


The Deputy And The Banshee

by lostmemoria



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: F/M, basically lydia and jordan start to work together, explicit for sexual themes later on, lydia is eighteen, might lower it to mature depending on the nature of the scenes tho, other tw characters will be added as they appear, the summer after junior year, this is a collab!!!, this takes place after s4
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-17
Updated: 2015-06-02
Packaged: 2018-03-07 21:32:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 50,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3183887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lostmemoria/pseuds/lostmemoria
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s summertime in Beacon Hills and Lydia Martin finds herself interning at the police department. What she thinks will be a summer of solving meager cases and doing paperwork actually turns out to be one hell of a ride as a string of strange events start to take place once again in Beacon Hills. Throw in some supernatural baddies, a cute deputy as her partner in crime, and a rising sexual tension, and Lydia knows it’s definitely going to be one interesting summer.</p><p>(READ BEGINNING NOTE.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a collab with the wonderful [KC](http://foreverandendlesslove.tumblr.com) who will be writing all the Lydia chapters, while I will be writing all the Jordan chapters. This is our first time collabing and we have to admit, it's quite fun actually and we had a lot of fun thinking of this story. We hope you have just as much fun reading it as well. :)

_**LYDIA** _

 

* * *

 

The last bell of the school year finally rang. Lydia quickly grabbed her purse and walked out of the classroom. It was finally summer, which meant no more homework every night and no more getting up early in the morning. No more bothersome high school boys trying to get her attention and more importantly, no more trying to put up a facade.

That is, until summer would get finished and it would start all over again.  
  
But Lydia didn’t want to think about that right now, what she did want to think about though was the fact that she was finally going to be a senior next year, and honestly, she couldn’t be anymore happier. It had been a tough year—a _horrible_ year, with everything from Stiles being possessed to Scott almost turning into a berserker and everything in between. But the one thing that still had Lydia feeling hollow was the one thing that still hurt the most.  
           
Losing her best friend.  
           
A shiver ran down her spine at the thought, and she decided _that_ was definitely not a year she wanted to ever look back on. All Lydia really wanted to do was just graduate and finally go to college. But even the thought of college made her fill with worry. Just the thought of leaving Beacon Hills, leaving the pack behind. Sometimes she thought that it might just be for the better, but then the thought of being all the way on the other side of the country—she didn’t doubt that she wasn’t going to get into an Ivy League—while the others stayed close by to Beacon Hills, just incase something bad happened, made her feel useless once more, because she should be here _too_ with the rest of the pack. Sighing, she quickly walked out of the school doors, feeling the California heat on her skin.

“Wait! Lydia!”

Lydia stopped in her tracks and turned to see a breathless Stiles trying to catch up with her.     

“Stiles.” Lydia said, raising her eyebrow. “What is it?”

Stiles stopped right in front of her and bent down to gasped for air. “ _Oh my god._ Why do you walk so fast?!”  
  
Lydia rolled my eyes. She did not have time for this. “What do you want, Stiles?” She snapped, while making her way towards her car with Stiles still trying to keep up with her pace. Lydia stopped in front of her car and turned to face Stiles again who looked like was about to pass out. Lydia couldn’t help but chuckle.       

“ _Well_ ,” he starts when he finally caught his breath, “Scott and I were leaving for the road trip tomorrow, and my dad kept on asking me to help him solve this one case for his work, and I still have to pack, so I was wondering if you could come and help me?”

Lydia furrowed her eyebrows. _Really?_ It was finally summer and this was how she was going to spend it?

“But I was gonna go to the mall today,” Lydia argued. She could use a new pair of heels. And a new summer dress or two.      

“Please?” Stiles pleaded. “Please? Please? _Please?_ Malia already left with Derek to find her mother, and I just need help! And you’re like a genius!”

Lydia frowned. “Like a genius? _I am a genius_ , Stiles,” she huffed before letting out a sigh. “Fine, fine. Just shut up, god.”         

“Yes!” Stiles pulled her into a quick hug before running back towards his jeep, shouting, “I’ll see you at the station!”

Lydia sighed and got inside her car. She did not expect to spend her first day of freedom at the station, solving crimes with the Sheriff and Stiles. Lydia drove towards the station and saw Stiles just in time to arrive there as well as she parked her car. She followed him inside the building and into the Sheriff’s office.         

“Hey Lydia.” Sheriff Stilinski smiled as soon he saw Stiles and Lydia come in.         

“Hi Sheriff! How are you?” Lydia smiled brightly.         

“I’m great. I’m assuming you’re here because my son dragged you to solve this case?”

Lydia nodded. “Sadly.” She laughed as Stiles rolled his eyes. Lydia made her way towards the Sheriff’s desk and sat on one of the chairs, watching as Sheriff took a folder out of one of his drawers and opened it.         

“This girl was murdered about two weeks ago and until now, we still couldn’t figure out who did it.” Sheriff explained, handing Lydia and Stiles pictures from the crime scene. Lydia studied the pictures carefully and the rest of the files in the folder.        

“What happened? Like the whole story?” Lydia asked, making Stiles glance up towards his father.

Sheriff sighed and leaned back on his chair. “Well, her parents said she has been acting really weird lately, and she kept telling them that someone was following her. They called the police and they found nothing, so they thought the girl was playing around with them. One night, they heard a scream coming from her room and—”         

“And they couldn’t find her.” Lydia finished the sentence.       

“Yeah,” the Sheriff said, and Lydia could easily see the sadness in his eyes.

The three were silent for a moment, before Stiles leaned over and picked up the files, studying them, while Lydia scanned through the other pictures.         

“Sheriff?” A deputy came inside the office. “We kinda need your help here.”

Sheriff sighed and stood up from his chair. “I’ll be right back.”

Stiles sat on his father’s chair and continued to study the files. “Ugh. I don’t even know if this is her body parts or something else.”  
  
Lydia shook her head in disgusts, throwing the gruesome pictures back in the folder.        

“Look at this, they reported that the girl’s stomach was opened.”  
Lydia leaned towards Stiles and read the report. “And before the night she went missing, she didn’t show up at school.”

The two exchanged looks before continuing to look through more of the files. Stiles opened one of his father’s drawers and looked through the other latest files he had, while Lydia read the other ones. It was all so similar. They were all girls around the ages of 12-16 years old. They all went missing and were found killed. Lydia took some of the other folders stacked on the desk, and then almost coincidentally, one of the files from a different case fell to the floor, revealing a photo of a wanted kidnapper. She swore she’s seen him in the news before. The man was about fifty years old and had a long beard on his face.        

And then it dawned on her. “ _It’s him_ ,” she said almost blankly.

Stiles turned towards her. “Who’s him?”  
  
The strawberry blonde looked at Stiles, eyes wide this time as she exclaimed, “It’s him! This man is the one who kidnapped her!”

Stiles took the picture from the Lydia and studied it.        

“See. Look at this.” Lydia read the file from the man’s folder. “The police officers have been searching for him, and they haven’t been able to find any trace of him. He has been kidnapping girls ages twelve to sixteen years old.” Lydia took the files of the other girls that went missing. “Look, it says on the description that they have been telling their parents that they felt like they were being followed too.”

Stiles read the files of the man and said, “And it says he tends to follow girls from their school and kidnap them.”

Lydia nodded and just as she did, the office door opened again and the Sheriff walked into the office with a stressful expression that only got _more_ tense when he saw that his desk was scattered with papers and his drawers were opened. His eyes widened.        

“What did you two do?” Sheriff asked furiously. “I told you two to solve one case not make a mess of all my files!”         

“No, dad, look!” Stiles walked up to his father and showed the evidence they just found. “This man has been following girls from their school and—”         

“That man has been missing for _years._ We can’t even find him,” Sheriff cut him off.         

“Yes, but _look_ , he kidnapped these girls the same way the missing girl was kidnapped. If he kidnapped and killed this girl, who is from Beacon Hills, that means this man is around here just hiding,” Stiles explained.         

“And we need to catch him before he runs away again,” Lydia added.

The Sheriff glanced at the two kids in front of him, brow still furrowed. But then his expression changed, a sort of relief crossing his features.  
“Parrish!” Sheriff yelled, quickly walking out of his office again to call the other deputies.

Lydia sighed and glanced at Stiles. “Problem solved.” She smiled. 

“Nice job, Lyds.” Stiles smiled.         

“Thanks. Now, we need to clean this up before your father gets mad again,” she said, returning the smile.

Stiles laughed and nodded, helping Lydia with the papers that were all over the Sheriff’s desk. She couldn’t help but feel good after solving the case, because even though she might not be able to help the other sometimes with her Banshee powers, at least she could use her intelligence to help the Sheriff solve the crimes. Lydia watched as three deputies ran out of the station, while the Sheriff came back inside his office.        

“They’re going out to go find him.” He said, before turning his appreciative gaze towards Lydia. “Thanks to you, we might be able to catch him this time.”

Lydia smiled proudly. “No problem.”

Stiles set the last folder inside the drawer and looked at the time. “Oh! I gotta go pack! Me and Scott are leaving early tomorrow!”         

Sheriff nodded. “Go ahead, son. Go home and pack for your trip. You guys did a good job on this case.”

Stiles nodded and grabbed his sweater. “I gotta go, Lyds! Thanks for helping again!” Stiles said before running out the door. Lydia chuckled and also grabbed her jacket and purse, ready to leave as well.

“Lydia?” Sheriff called before she could step out the door. “How come you’re not going on the road trip?”

Lydia shrugged. “It’s Scott and Stiles. I think they want this to be _a boys only_ trip.”

He chuckled. “True, so what are you doing this summer?”         

Lydia shrugged her shoulders, flipping her hair. “Shopping, maybe helping my mom sell the Lake House, trying not to get killed from whatever potential supernatural threat this town will have next…,” she trailed off, and now that she thought about it, she didn’t exactly have any plans this summer. All her past summers were filled with hanging out with friends, going to parties, and being with some boy. But with everything that had happened in the past year, none of that seemed likely to happen this summer. With Kira heading back to New York for vacation and Malia looking for her mother while having bonding time with Derek, Lydia was practically going to be alone this whole summer. Not that she wasn’t already used to it, she was mostly all by herself during the whole benefactor business anyways. But either way, it still made her feel a bit depressed, because she didn’t want to be alone anymore.  
  
She tried not to make it so obvious though, watching as Sheriff took a seat behind his desk and looked up at her with excited eyes. “Well, I was thinking maybe you could intern this summer here? I mean, you’ve helped a great deal with the cases even as an outsider and I’m pretty sure it will look really good on your college application.” And then, as if realizing what he just said, he let out a small chuckle. “Not that you need it, that is.”

His comment made Lydia smile. But then her lips thinned as she wrapped her mind around his proposal. She wasn’t too sure if she wanted to be spending her summer at the station, solving cases that flew over most of the other deputies’ heads. “Um… I don’t know,” Lydia said finally.

“You did a really good job at solving this case  that we’ve been working on for weeks. I think we need someone like you here. I mean it’s your choice if you want to. I’m not gonna force you into anything.”

“Alright. I’ll think about it.” Lydia smiled. “I’ll tell you tomorrow if I’ll do it.”

Sheriff nodded. “Please think about it.”

Lydia nodded and gave Sheriff one last smile before leaving the station.

 

 

**

 

           
Lydia came home that night with her mom _actually_ at home. It was one of those rare occasions that made her happy when her mom was actually at home the same time as her and not at the school until late night grading papers. Lydia understood that her mother was busy, because ever since the divorce, her mother had been working two jobs at separate schools to keep them alive and to keep them under the roof of their mansion of a house. Lydia really appreciated her mother, even though she never expressed it as much, but she tried her best to show it through the little things, like actually being at home for dinner. So when she entered the house and smelled the delicious aroma of roasted chicken and mashed potatoes, she smiled as she made her way into the kitchen.        

“Hi, sweetheart!” Natalie Martin smiled at her daughter.         

“Hey, mom. You’re home early.” Lydia smiled back.         

“Yes, I am. I finished all my paperwork, so I came home early and actually cooked for once.”

Lydia nodded, watching her mother set the food on the table.         

“Oh! I also baked some blueberry muffins!” She exclaimed, getting a rather confused look from Lydia. It was very odd to see her mother like this.

“Any special occasion?” Lydia asked.

“No. Why? I can’t bake for no reason?”

Lydia laughed, shaking her head. “I guess not.”She was happy to see her mom like this. Sometimes, she just missed spending time with her. They used to shop all the time and they would even bake cookies or brownies together. Ever since her father left them, Lydia rarely saw her mom and when she did, she would be in a stressful mood.         

“Oh, mom, Sheriff asked me if I could intern at the station for the summer. Is that okay?” Lydia asked, even though most of the time she didn’t really ask her permission for anything. But she was trying to change that now.       

Her mother frowned, obviously worried. “Intern? I don’t know, sweetheart. Don’t you think that’s kind of dangerous?”        

“I’ll just helping them with paperwork and stuff. I won’t go and actually _shoot people._ ” Lydia chuckled.

Natalie sighed and nodded her head. “Alright. I guess you can.”

Lydia smiled, slightly surprised at her mother’s response, but nevertheless she couldn’t help but embrace her. She hadn’t hugged her mother in a such a long time. “ _Thank you_ ,” she found herself whispering into her mother’s shoulder.         

Natalie hugged her back in return, laughing. “Alright, alright, honey. C’mon, let’s eat now. I’m starving!”

Lydia and her mother sat down at the table and enjoyed their food while talking and spending quality time with each other, making up for all the dinners they never had together.

 

 

**

 

  
The sun was shining brightly and the summer heat was beating down on Lydia when she went to the station next day. She had been thinking about the conversation she and Sheriff had yesterday, and since her friends were too busy already doing other things, maybe spending some time in the station wasn’t such a bad idea. Her mother had already approved and after all, she was pretty good at solving crimes. Why not put that to use? At least it was something she had more control over than her banshee powers.       

“Lydia!” Sheriff Stilinski smiled brightly as soon as he saw the strawberry blonde enter.        

“Good morning Sheriff, I brought some coffee.” Lydia handed Sheriff a cup of coffee and handed the other deputies some too.        

“Sounds like someone’s in a good mood. Did you think about my offer?” Sheriff asked.

Lydia nodded. “Yes and _yes_ , I’ll take it.”

Sheriff’s eyes widened excitedly. “Really? That’s great! You can start today.”        

Lydia smiled, the excited look on the Sheriff’s face reminding her of a child.  
“Awesome. What do I do first?”She followed as Sheriff walked down the hall until Deputy Parrish bumped into them.         

“Sir,” he greeted before turning his gaze towards Lydia, his features slightly softening as he smiled at her. “Lydia."        

Lydia couldn’t help but smile back. “Coffee?” She asked, handing him the last cup she was holding. 

Jordan took the cup, their fingers brushing slightly together, and making Lydia notice how his gaze lingered on her longer than needed. “Thank you,” he said, taking a sip of the coffee.

Lydia smiled a little wider as Sheriff glanced at both of them. “Alright, so here’s your first assignment,” he said, handing her a folder.  

“Wait, _assignment?_ ” Jordan chimed in, brow arched curiously. “What’s going on?”         

“Lydia will be interning for us this summer.” Sheriff explained without a moment’s hesitation.

Jordan glanced towards her in surprise and when Lydia met his gaze, she didn’t miss the slightly flustered expression that crossed the deputy’s face upon hearing the announcement. And Lydia knew at that moment that it was definitely going to be one _interesting_ summer.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a collab with the wonderful KC who will be writing all the Lydia chapters, while I will be writing all the Jordan chapters. This is our first time collabing and we have to admit, it's quite fun actually and we had a lot of fun thinking of this story. We hope you have just as much fun reading it as well. :)  
> \- -  
> check out this super cool edit by KC! :D  
>  

_**JORDAN** _

* * *

 

Jordan would be lying if he said Lydia didn’t preoccupy his mind more than he was willing to admit.  
  
And now that the strawberry blonde was only going to be spending more time at the station because the Sheriff gave her an internship, Jordan didn’t know exactly what to think. He was clearly fascinated by Lydia, ever since he found her at the Walcott’s House that one day. Before that, he had only heard small talk about her from the other deputies, because of her known reputation to show up at crime scenes where people always seemed to be brutally murdered, but unlike the others who looked at her with suspicion, Jordan looked more at Lydia with _interest._ He knew that there was something different about her from the very start, which probably stemmed his guess on her being psychic because it made the most sense to him even though to everyone else, including the Sheriff, seemed to look at him like he had three heads for even suggesting that.  
  
It was only when Jordan got looped into what was _really_ going on in Beacon Hills did he understand why everyone thought he was ridiculous for even bringing up the whole psychic thing. Because there were _far more_ difficult things to comprehend going on in this town that psychics sounded almost too easy for what he now knew was a town full of werewolves, werecoyotes, kitsunes, and _banshees._  
  
When he learned that Lydia was a banshee and not a psychic, he had literally gone home that night and found himself hunched over his laptop at two in the morning with too much coffee in his system trying to find out everything about the wailing woman. He didn’t know why he did it, but he felt like he had to. He felt like he had to _understand_ her. It was almost like the fact that he was a supernatural as well didn’t even phase him—although it very much did, more than he would like to admit—but for some reason, he believed that there were bigger things that were far more important than finding out what supernatural creature he was, like the fact that there was a supposed mastermind hiring assassins to get rid of all the supernatural creatures in town.  
  
His supernatural identity could wait.  
  
But then when the Benefactor stuff _did_ get over and Lydia suggested to him that she would like to help him figure out what he was, he had to do a double take for a moment. This girl that he barely knew, yet at the same time knew _enough_ of to know that she had been through a lot, still wanted to do everything in her willpower to help other people, to help _him_.  
  
It left Jordan in nothing but admiration and respect for the strawberry blonde.  
  
“There’s been another missing persons case,” Sheriff suddenly said, bringing the deputy out of his thoughts and watching as Lydia took the file from the older man. “Except this time, it’s a kid. A girl, ten years old. She was last seen forty-eight hours ago at a friend’s house who lived a few blocks down from her own house. She left her friend’s place around three in the afternoon to go back to her house, but her parents said she never came home.”  
  
Lydia’s eyes scanned through the file and Jordan couldn’t help but ponder on the case as well. From what he knew, Beacon Hills was known to have people disappear all the time before they’re found dead that is, which only contributed to the county’s high homicide rate, but this was the first time he heard any kids going missing. In fact, now that Jordan thought about it, Beacon Hills wouldn’t have such a high death rate problem in the first place if it wasn’t for all the supernatural things going on around here.  
  
He wondered if the supernatural had anything to do with this missing kid as well.  
  
“This doesn’t just sound like any normal kidnapping,” Lydia said, as if reading his mind and he still wondered whether banshees were capable of doing that or not.  
  
“What do you mean?” Sheriff asked, as Jordan found himself leaning in attentively towards her.  
  
“Well,” she starts, making an expression that almost looked like she knew more than both him and the Sheriff combined. And maybe she did. “First of all, the neighborhood that this girl lives in was just recently built in Beacon Hills. Perhaps just a few years old.”  
  
“And?” Jordan found himself pressing, wanting to know more of what she was getting at.  
  
Lydia threw him a look that clearly said she didn’t like to be _pressed_ in any way, making Jordan loosen his demeanor a little, as she tossed her hair and continued. “ _And_ it hardly makes sense for there to be crime in a fairly new, fairly rich neighborhood. So for there to be a kidnapping? Even rarer. Whatever happened to this girl, whoever took her, clearly knew what they were doing.”

“So, you’re saying this kidnapping was deliberate? Planned?” Jordan asked, brow furrowed and clearly interested.  
  
Lydia looked at him, a slightly amused smile curving on her lips. “Nice deductive skills, _deputy_ ,” she said, his title rolling off her tongue so smoothly that it made him gawk as she turned back towards the Sheriff. “It could be deliberate. Whoever kidnapped her might have planned it. In a town like this, anything’s possible after all.”  
  
Jordan knew she was right about that. Hell, with everything that happened, he’s lost count of how many times he’s had to write down “attack by mountain lion” to cover things up.  
  
Lydia continued to look through the file until something caught her attention, and he knew something did by the way her brow creased. “It says here that someone saw her yesterday near the abandoned warehouse?”  
  
Sheriff sighed at her question. “Yes, but the guy was so drunk, he could barely stand on his own two feet. And I already had a few deputies check that place out and they found nada.”  
  
“I guess I know where to start now,” Lydia murmured mostly to herself, but loud enough for Jordan to hear as he narrowed his eyes at her.  
  
“You can’t go there _alone_ ,” he stated obviously, “it could be dangerous.”  
  
It was Lydia’s turn to narrow her eyes at him now, and Jordan would be lying if he said she wasn’t the least bit intimidating when she did that. “I can perfectly take care of myself,” she said in a tone that was on the edge of snapping, and Jordan didn’t dare doubt that of course, but at the same time it didn’t stop to cease the worry inside of him.  
  
“Actually, you know he has a point Lydia,” Sheriff finally said, coming in between them, and making Lydia’s expression turn even more bitter.  
  
Jordan couldn’t help but feel bad for her, because he knew all she just wanted to do was help. “It’s for your own safety, Lydia,” he tried to tell her reassuringly, but he knew she wouldn’t have any of it.  
  
“Exactly,” Sheriff agreed, and then turned towards the deputy, adding, “which is whyyou’ll be going with her.”  
  
“I couldn’t have agreed any—Wait, _what?_ ” It was Jordan’s turn to stare dumbfounded at the Sheriff now, his mind still trying to wrap around what the older man just said. It wasn’t that he didn’t mind accompanying Lydia, it was just that he would very much rather check out the place _himself_ instead of getting Lydia involved into something that could potentially be dangerous.  
  
“You heard me, Parrish,” Sheriff said, not wavering from his position, “I think you two would make a good team.” Then with his voice dropping to a whisper, he added, “And besides, if this has something to do with the supernatural, I’d rather have you two handle it anyways.”  
  
Jordan couldn’t help but object anyways, “But Sheriff—”  
  
“No buts, Parrish,” the older man said, cutting him off, and before Jordan could try saying anything more, the Sheriff walked away, leaving the two of them alone.  
  
The deputy barely had any time to even think over what  just happened, because before he knew it, he heard the clicking of heels across the floor as Lydia appeared beside him. And the expression on her face? Absolutely amused. He could tell she was enjoying every minute of this just by the devious smile on her face and the mischievous sparkle in her eye, and he wasn’t surprised, since he was in a pretty laughable state at the moment. But instead of laughing at him, she opened her mouth and in an equally amused tone that he swore almost edged on teasing, said, “Looks like you have a new partner, _deputy_.” And with that remark, Lydia flashed him one more sly smile before smoothly turning away on her heels, strawberry blonde locks nearly hitting him in the face as she walked, _no_ , sashayed away, leaving him completely stunned and staring after her.  
  
It took him a few moments to compose himself once again, and when he did, Jordan followed her out of the station, all the while mentally cursing himself for putting himself in such a position, because sooner or later, he knew that Lydia was definitely going to ruin him.

 

**

 

The abandoned warehouse was located just a little ways off the outskirts of Beacon Hills, making the drive from the station to their destination a little lengthy, but neither of them seemed to mind as the air between them filled with mostly silence. It wasn’t an awkward silence of any sort though, in fact it was actually quite comfortable.  
  
That is, until Jordan felt the strawberry blonde’s intent gaze on him.  
  
“You know,” he started, sideways glancing at her, “it’s rude to stare.”  
  
Lydia scoffed, “Says the one who’s always _staring._ ”  
  
Her statement made Jordan look fully towards her now, more surprised not by the fact that she said it, but by the fact that she seemed to notice the way he looked at her, making an embarrassed blush creep up his neck.  
  
“Eyes on the road, deputy,” Lydia then hummed playfully, not saying anymore on the previous topic.  
  
Jordan tried his best not to get flustered—even though it was quite inevitable whenever he was around her—as he glued his gaze back on the road in front of him, letting silence fall between them again. And this time, he didn’t dare disrupt it.

When the warehouse came into view, Jordan turned into the empty lot, parking the cruiser as the two of them stepped out of the car. Lydia immediately moved forward to start walking towards the abandoned place, but he stopped her before she could, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder and making her look towards him, slightly confused. Jordan’s mouth went slack for a moment, because he found himself lost in the way she gazed at him, her green eyes meeting his. “I….,” he started, pausing only to remove his hand from her shoulder, before managing again in his best steely tone this time, “stay behind me.”  
  
Lydia merely rolled her eyes at him at his comment, but she nodded, letting Jordan walk in front of her as they made their way towards the warehouse that looked like it was ready to collapse in on itself any minute. When they entered, Jordan pulled out his gun and cocked it cautiously as his other hand pulled out a flashlight, shining it in the darkness so that they could see where they were going. The place was empty, obviously, as no one had inhabited the place for years, but for some reason Jordan couldn’t help but feel a strange presence overwhelm his shoulders like a heavy weight, and no matter how much he tried to ignore it, it didn’t go away.  
  
“Do you smell that?” Lydia suddenly asked, bringing her hand up to touch his side as if to get him to stop in his tracks, and Jordan did, feeling the warmth of her fingers seep through the fabric of his clothes.  
  
At first, he didn’t smell anything, but then he inhaled deeply, the strong scent of some cleaning solvent and vinegar filling his senses. “It smells...recent,” he said, brow furrowed.  
  
“That’s because it _is_ ,” Lydia said, assured. “Someone’s been here.”  
  
“Or someone _is_ here,” Jordan added, suddenly becoming more alert of his surroundings as they continued to walk through the massive room.  
  
“Maybe we should split up,” Lydia suddenly suggested, and Jordan had to stop himself from turning around and giving her a very pointed look, because that was probably the worst idea he’s heard all day. He didn’t say it out loud though, of course, but Lydia seemed to catch his drift anyways, because she added right after with a prim tone, _“I’ve went up against a Berserker before._ ”  
  
Jordan heard about that. He also heard that the Sheriff came in and basically blew that berserker up into pieces. He was in Mexico at that time with Chris, and when he first heard about it from the Sheriff when he came back, he blamed himself for not being there, because if he was, he knew he’d never let Lydia get cornered by one of those things in the first place. “I don’t think that’s an entirely good idea,” he finally said, not turning to meet her gaze as he scanned around the room instead. “I mean...I think it’s better if we stick together, since this place doesn’t seem so unhazardous either.”  
  
Lydia didn’t respond to him right away, and after a while Jordan assumed that she was bitter at him again for basically treating her like some fragile little thing, and he really hated himself for doing it, but after everything she’s been through, he knew he couldn’t stop himself from worrying over her. But then the silence between them started to prolong and Jordan couldn’t take it anymore. “Lydia,” he sighed, “you know I didn’t mean it that way, I just—” He was forced to pause however, because as soon as he turned to face the strawberry blonde, his eyes widen.  
  
She wasn’t there.  
  
Jordan’s eyes immediately darted around him, flashing the bright light in every corner of the room, his gun still raised, but this time his finger taunt around the trigger. But wherever he looked, he couldn’t find her. She was nowhere in sight. The trembling worry from before began bubbling up inside him again, but he barely had time to register it, because before he knew it, a scream echoed through the building.  
  
Lydia.  
  
And as soon as he heard it, he _ran_. He ran towards the direction in where it came from, finding himself sprinting down a flight of stairs until he was greeted by a new change in his surroundings, along with the air around him turning cold.  
  
It didn’t take long for Jordan to realize that he was standing in a freezer.  
  
It immediately brought back memories to the freezer back in Walcott House, where he had found the bodies with Lydia, because just like then, there were bodies hanging here as well. And this time, he didn’t have to unzip one of the bags to know that they were _bodies_. The odor of vinegar and cleaning solvent was strongest here, and it didn’t take Jordan long to realize that whoever was responsible for all of this was using them to clean up his or her victims after he or she slaughtered them, and, if Jordan was on the right track, _ate them._  
  
Another scream resonated through the freezer, making the hair on the back of his neck stand up, and this time it was loud enough for him to know that Lydia was very close by, making him not want to waste anymore time as he scrambled past the body bags until he came to a clearing in the corner of the room.  
  
And then he saw her.  
  
Lydia was scrawled across the floor, visibly trembling, and not because of the cool temperature of the freezer, but because of the man that was hovering over her, staring at her hungrily while baring razor sharp teeth. “I couldn’t have the little girl that stumbled in here _yesterday_ , but I think you will do. You look mighty tasty, sweetheart,” the man whispered to her, and the worry that he was trying to contain just a while ago?  
  
It was now replaced by anger.  
  
An anger that only reminded Jordan back to when he had kicked Haigh’s ass after the asshole tried burning him alive. Jordan tried his best to suppress it, but he couldn’t. He only found his anger getting worse, tipping over the edge as he clenched his jaw and tightened his grip on the trigger. And before he knew it, he was standing over the Wendigo that was on top of Lydia, the barrel of his gun resting on the back of the man’s head, grabbing his attention. “Get. Off. Of _her_.” He emphasized each word as they left his mouth, painted with such rage that it not only surprised him, but it also made Lydia gasp as she looked at him over the Wendigo’s shoulder, a fear stricken expression on her face.  
  
The Wendigo released what sounded like a laugh as he glanced up at Jordan, only the whites of his eyes showing. “You know a bullet to the head won’t kill me,” he said, boastful.  
  
“I know,” Jordan replied, jaw still clenched. “Which is why after I put a bullet to your brain, I’ll put one through your heart. And then I’ll _burn it._ ” He’s read the bestiary enough times with Lydia to know how to kill a Wendigo by now. But that didn’t stop Jordan from getting surprised by his own violent and threatening tone, because this was the _second_ time he wanted to pull the trigger so badly.  
  
The first time was when Brunski held a needle against Lydia’s neck at Eichen House. And that time, Jordan had actually pulled the trigger, killing the man.  
  
At the sound of his words, the Wendigo visibly tensed up. And without another word, he slowly but carefully stood up. After his weight was removed from her body, Lydia scrambled back on to her feet and away from both of them, backing up until she hit the edge of the wall and stayed there. Jordan grabbed the Wendigo roughly by the arm, gun still pointed at him as he pulled him towards a scaffold nearby. He pushed him down on to the floor roughly, earning a low hiss from the man, as Jordan quickly grabbed a coil of rope that he found laying around and tied the Wendigo up so that he wouldn’t escape. As soon as he was tied tight enough, Jordan glanced back at Lydia and saw that she was shaken up, her whole body quivering a little. His features immediately softened at the sight, as he made his way towards her, while slowly removing his officer jacket so he could drape it around her shoulders, a gesture that always came so easily from him when he was with her. But as soon as Jordan touched her, she flinched, surprising him.  
  
And the thought of her flinching because he possibly frightened her after how he just acted brought a sick feeling in his stomach.  
  
But after looking up and seeing that it was just him, Lydia relaxed and took his jacket, huddling into its warmth.  
  
“Do you want to wait outside?” Jordan asked her softly.  
  
Lydia shook her head in reply, and then turned towards the tied up Wendigo, her once fear stricken expression replaced with a fuming fury as she glared at him. “What did you do to the girl?” She interrogated him.  
  
The Wendigo couldn’t help but chuckle. “Trust me, if I had killed her, you would have found her hanging somewhere in here.”  
  
Lydia scowled in disgust, turning her gaze away, while Jordan frowned, making his way towards the man again. “You’re not in any state to be playing games with us,” he warned. “So just tell us where the girl is.”  
  
He stared at Jordan’s gun, the smug expression falling off his face. “I don’t know where she is,” he said lowly.  
  
“You’re _lying_ ,” Lydia hissed in such a way that it was hard for Jordan to believe she was shaking just a few moments prior.  
  
“I’m not lying,” the Wendigo snarled back at her, baring razor sharp teeth momentarily before he remembered that Jordan still had his gun, and then closed his mouth. “She stumbled in here yesterday. She was frightened and lost, and she looked only around ten years old, I believe.” And then a tiny smile appeared on his lips as he continued, “Do you know how delicious they are when they’re scared and _that_ young? I wouldn’t have let her out of my grasp, but the younger they are, the faster and moretroublesome they can be. She ended up escaping from me, that brat...But that’s all I know. I don’t know where she went after she escaped from me.”  
  
Jordan didn’t want to believe him at first, but then Lydia sighed, and it wasn’t so much a sigh of defeat as it was one of annoyance. “He’s telling the truth,” she said and then exhaled once more, “Unfortunately.”  
  
He didn’t ask her how she could be so sure, but instead just nodded, lowering his gun and placing it back in his holster before pulling out his phone next. “I’m going to call the Sheriff. And then Deaton so he can take him back to Eichen House,” he said, meeting her gaze.  
  
Lydia nodded and even when Jordan turned away to call it in,  he could still feel the strawberry blonde’s intense gaze on him.

 

**

  
  
After the Wendigo was taken away by Deaton and the Sheriff arrived with a force to clean out the warehouse, Jordan placed a hand on the small of Lydia’s back—this time, she didn’t flinch— and guided her back to his cruiser. The Sheriff told him to take Lydia home and that was exactly what he was going to do as he opened the passenger door for her, watching as she slid into the seat before closing the door firmly.  
  
She hadn’t said a word to him since the police arrived, and even when he backed out of the parking lot and drove down the road back to Beacon Hills, she continued to stay quiet. Jordan decided it might be better not to force anything out of her, since she had every right to stay quiet, so he let the silence descend between them as he kept his eyes on the road.  
  
It was only when he finally drove back into Beacon Hills did Lydia finally speak.  
  
“Your eyes were glowing back there,” she said softly.  
  
Her statement took him off guard so much that he steered off the road abruptly, pulling to the shoulder before coming to a stop. When he turned over to look at her, his eyes were wide and no words came out of his mouth.  
  
Lydia stared back at him with a less shocked expression than him. “You didn’t know?” She asked.  
  
Jordan shook his head, not understanding. He found himself repeating her words instead, questioning it. “My eyes... _glowed_ …?” He remembered when Chris told him the exact same words after he had saved his life down in the sewers, and at that time, Jordan didn’t really know whether to believe the man or not. Part of him wanted to, because he was a supernatural after all, so it made sense in a way, but part of him also thought that Chris had been hallucinating. That the guy had lost so much blood and was just seeing things.  
  
But now, Lydia was telling him the same thing.  
  
“What...What does it mean?” He asked her.  
  
Lydia pressed her lips together. “I don’t know,” she answered, unsure. And she must have seen the worry that crossed his own expression because she reached her hand out and gently put it over his, giving him a tiny reassuring smile. “But we’ll find out. I told you I’d help you figure it out, so we will.”  
  
Jordan found solace in her words as he found himself nodding and his body relaxing a little bit. It was only he felt the tension rise from his shoulders that he realized how _cold_ her hand was. He frowned at her. “You’re freezing.”  
  
“Well, I was just in a _freezer_ ,” she said, mostly jokingly, and then realizing that her hand was still on his, she removed it.  
  
For some reason, he missed the feeling of her hand but he managed to push the thought away as her comment only made him frown even more. “I’m getting you some coffee before I drop you off,” he told her, putting his hands back on the wheel as he pulled back on to the road. He knew a place that stayed open late.  
  
“An officer buying coffee for an eighteen year old girl while still on duty? What would people possibly _think,_ deputy?” Lydia said, in the most fake shocked tone that it made smiles appear on both of their lips. “Your reputation would be _tarnished._ ”  
  
Jordan chuckled. “You’re acting like I buy coffee for eighteen year old girls all the time.”  
  
She seemed to take interest in his statement because her lips curved in a tiny smirk. “ _Oh_ ,” she says, her red lips rounding in the most perfect ‘O’ shape he had probably ever seen. “So does that make me an exception?”  
  
His breath hitched at her question and for a moment he thought, _the only exception_ , before he pushed it away, grateful that she couldn’t read his mind. Or at least he assumed she couldn’t. And for a moment, he didn’t exactly know how to respond to her question so he responded in the only way he could. “Yeah,” he said slowly, glancing over at her. “I guess you are.” His heart was pounding so  hard as he said those words and when Lydia didn’t say anything, didn’t react, he almost regretted saying it in the first place.  
  
But then she finally smiled, and it was like a bright light in a place full of darkness. “I don’t think I have an appetite after what just happened,” she started up again, smiling, “ _but_ coffee sounds heavenly right now.”  
  
Jordan smiled back at her, because her smile was so contagious, and as he drove towards his favorite coffee shop around the corner, he couldn’t help but think that it was the first time a girl ever had such a strong hold on him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _**LYDIA** _

* * *

 

It had been exactly three days since Lydia opened the Bestiary again. Ever since she gave the book to Jordan, they have only read it together twice until her school work had started to get in the way. But ever since she saw Jordan’s eyes glow back in the warehouse with the Wendigo, she suggested they should start going back to researching what he really is.

Lydia sat in front of Jordan’s desk as she flipped the pages of the Bestiary. It had been two hours of research, and they still didn’t find _anything._ Lydia’s eyes were starting to hurt from reading about all the different creatures and their powers that sometimes all of it started to jumble up in her mind. She was going back and forth with the creatures that were involved with fire, but she found nothing that could fit the deputy sitting in front of her.

“Found anything?” Lydia asked, glancing up at Jordan, who was on his laptop.

“Unfortunately, no.” Jordan sighed, closing his laptop. “Why don’t we take a break?”

“That sounds good.” Lydia nodded, closing the book. She could _definitely_ use a break, because if she read about another creature in that book, she might just lose her mind. It’s been exactly a full week since Lydia started working at the station, and not since the incident with the Wendigo on her first day on the job, nothing too interesting or supernatural had plagued the town so far, which was kind of surprising since there always seemed to be something going on around here. But Lydia was somewhat grateful that there had been mostly peace, in fact it might actually be something she could finally get used to.

As she stood up from her seat, her legs slightly numb from sitting so long, her eyes glanced over at Jordan who stood up from his chair as well, stretching out his tired limbs. She gave the deputy a quick once over, admiring the way his uniform hugged his well toned figure, but as soon as Jordan saw her staring, she quickly looked away, but not quick enough to hide the light blush she felt burning her cheeks or the way her heart faintly skipped a beat. God, what was wrong with her? When did she start staring so openly at a guy? And more importantly, when did she start _blushing_ about it?

“Uh, do you wanna get something to eat?” Jordan suddenly asked, making her glance over at him again.

Lydia nodded, taking a deep breath and composing herself again. “Food sounds really good right now.” She smiled brightly, grabbing her purse just when the Sheriff walked into the office with a file on his hand.

“I’m sorry to interrupt you guys, but I have a case for you two to work on.” Sheriff said with a frown on his face. “Another kid is missing and this time, it’s a boy.”

Jordan and Lydia exchanged looks. Lydia took the file from the Sheriff and read the report. The boy had been missing for 48 hours already, and none of his friends knew where he was. The last time they saw him was when he was walking home from his friend’s house. The same exact scenario as the missing girl.

“Do you two mind going along with the two deputies I sent?” Sheriff asked. Lydia exchanged looks with Jordan before nodding her head. She was hungry, but she felt like she needed to check this report before eating her late lunch.

Lydia followed Jordan out of the station and into his cruiser without saying a word. All she could think about was the missing boy. She wanted to help, but how could she possibly help when she always ends up finding  the _dead_ bodies before she could even save them? Lydia slid into the passenger seat while Jordan started the car and drove towards the boy’s house, following the other police cruisers. She didn’t say anything the whole ride there, and by the time Jordan parked the car in front of the boy’s house, he turned to face her and Lydia saw the worried expression he had on his face.

“Are you alright?” He asked.

Lydia nodded her head. “Let’s go check this out.”

She stepped out of the car and followed Jordan towards a gigantic mansion. It reminded her a lot of the Walcott’s house except this one was a lot bit bigger. And that was all it took for the memories of what happened at the Walcott’s house to come flashing back to her mind. The way she didn’t know how she got there, and how that was the first time she met Jordan, and of course, leave it to her to bump into the handsome deputy in the most worst possible way _ever._ Somehow, thinking about the dead bodies that were hanging in the house that day sent a shiver running down her spine. She didn’t want the missing girl or the missing boy to end up like that.

As soon as they stepped inside the house, the other two deputies were talking to the worried father. The mother, however, was pacing back and forth. Lydia wanted to go up to her and tell her that everything was going to be okay, that they will find her missing son soon, but she couldn’t promise that either because before she could follow Jordan towards the mother, she felt a huge terrible feeling crawl up inside her. A feeling that was all too familiar. She felt it whenever she knew death was near, she felt it when her boyfriend Aiden died, she felt it when she ended up in front of Derek’s loft without knowing how, and she felt it most strongly when Allison’s life was ripped out of her body.  
  
It felt like the life had been ripped out of Lydia’s body as well, and in a way, it was. Allison was her _best friend._  
  
And now she was gone.

Lydia suddenly stepped back, making her almost lose her balance. She held on to the door frame, almost losing her grip from there as well, until she felt Jordan by her side, helping her stay on her feet.

“Hey.” He whispered, “Are you alright? What’s wrong?” 

“I… I don’t know. I’m having a feeling,” Lydia said in a shaky voice. She was hoping that this feeling didn’t involve the missing boy, the last thing she needed right now was to stumble upon another dead body. 

Lydia watched Jordan glance around the house before giving one of the deputies a sign that he was going to leave. “C’mon,” Jordan said, placing his hand on the small of her back, leading her out of the house. “What are you feeling? Do you need to go home?” He asked her as soon as they were out of sight.

Lydia shook her head, the feeling from before becoming stronger and stronger with each passing moment. She swallowed hard. “I just… I need to scream.” 

Jordan didn’t say a word and just led Lydia to his cruiser. Lydia entered his car and tried to control her shaky hands. She knew something terrible was going to happen, but she didn’t know how to control these powers of hers. She watched as Jordan slid inside the driver’s seat next to her again and started the car.

“Can you drive to the directions I tell you?” Lydia asked, voice just as shaky.

Jordan nodded his head and followed her instructions. Lydia allowed her banshee powers to overcome her, letting them tell her where to go. She didn’t know where she would end up, but she always felt like she had to follow the feeling inside her. Whatever it was, she knew it would involve someone dying, and she didn’t like the thought of that, so she followed the voices, the feeling of death, always hoping that just maybe this time she could save that person.  
  
Just maybe.

Lydia continued telling Jordan where to go until they finally arrived at the Beacon Hills Preserve. As soon as Jordan parked the car and turned off the ignition, Lydia opened the door and quickly ran out of the cruiser. She ran out to the middle of the preserve, her skin buzzing from the afternoon chill and the voices getting louder and louder in her head. She didn’t know who the voice belonged to, but all she did know was that it sounded like a child. Suddenly, Lydia froze in her tracks, the disturbing feeling inside her rising up her throat like a bad nightmare, until she couldn’t take it anymore.

And then she screamed.

Her piercing scream echoed through the woods and she continued to scream until she couldn’t find her voice anymore. When she turned around, she saw Jordan with his ears covered and a surprised look on his face as he stared at her. She wasn’t surprised by his expression since it was the very first time he ever heard her scream, and Lydia knew she had startled him.

But before she could even apologize, her banshee powers kicked in again and she tilted her head as she heard a cry coming from deep in the woods. Her eyes never left the path of the forest in front of her as she made her way through, ignoring the fact that Jordan was continuously calling her name and asking her if she was alright. In a way, she couldn’t hear him at the moment. All she could hear was the clear sound of a crying little girl not far from where she was at, and Lydia kept on walking deeper into the woods until she finally stopped at an old cabin.

“Lydia.” She heard Jordan’s soft voice again. “What’s going on?”

She turned to face him, a frightened expression crossing her face. “Someone’s in here. She’s… She’s crying,” Lydia explained. 

“Okay. I believe you.” Jordan took out his gun from his holster. “But you need to stay with me just in case there’s something dangerous in there.”

Nodding, Lydia followed Jordan inside the cabin. It was completely dark inside, except for the outside light that poured in through the broken windows. A musty smell drenched the place, and as they cautiously tread deeper into the abandoned cabin, Lydia felt her heart lurching out of her chest with each step they took.

“Beacon Hills Sheriff’s Department. Show yourself!” Jordan called out, his grip tightening around his gun.

“I don’t think anyone’s here,” Lydia whispered, keeping herself close to him.

And before Jordan could answer her, Lydia suddenly yelped when she almost stumbled over something. Grabbing on to Jordan’s arm to balance herself again, she glanced down only to find that she had nearly tripped over a body. And it wasn’t just any body, it was the bloody body of the girl that had gone missing. Lydia gasped loudly, bringing a shaky hand up to her mouth in complete shock, as she continued to stare at the body and the pool of crimson blood that surrounded the girl’s head until she felt Jordan pull her away, making her turn the other way so she could avoid the sight.

“I-It’s… It’s the m-missing girl,” Lydia said, stumbling over her own words while her whole body shivered uncontrollably. “The one who we were looking for last week...”

She heard Jordan call for backup before feeling him move up behind her, and then suddenly, she felt that familiar warm heavy feeling on her shoulders again. When she glanced up, she found that Jordan had taken off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders, just like he had done back at the warehouse with the Wendigo. It made Lydia suddenly wonder whether it was a usual habit for him to do that, because somehow, she always ended up with his jacket. Lydia watched from the corner of her eye as Jordan carefully checked over the little girl, while the pool of blood on the floor couldn’t help but start to make her feel sick. The little girl was killed _so_ brutally, and Lydia couldn’t do anything to help her. 

She had let another person die _again._ And with that thought, she couldn’t help but think of the missing boy. Was he going to die soon too?

“What—What if this happens to the missing boy?” Lydia suddenly asked, turning towards Jordan with terrified eyes and trembling fingers. “W-We need to find him, Parrish. We _can’t_ let him die too. I-I can’t let him die.”

Lydia felt tears dot her eyelashes just as Jordan placed his hands on her shoulders, making her look up at him, seeing his green eyes staring deeply into hers. “We will, okay? We’ll find him. I know we will,” he tells her soothingly.

Lydia just looked into his green eyes, transfixed, and somehow, she felt a warm feeling inside her stomach. She suddenly felt _safe_. She felt like she could trust him when he told her they would find the boy sooner or later, she felt like she could _believe_ him. And staring into the deputy’s brilliant green eyes, Lydia found something that resembled hope in them, and a part of her wanted to stare into those eyes forever. However, their locked gaze broke when the sound of police sirens resonated outside the cabin, making the two of them quickly run out of the cabin to meet the Sheriff and the other deputies.

Lydia stood by the cruiser the whole time as Jordan explained everything that had happened to the Sheriff, a deep frown framing the older man’s face during the whole interrogation. Lydia knew he didn’t want another child to be killed, and it only made her feel more guilty for not being able to save the girl. She felt guilty because she had this power but she couldn’t even _use_ to do anything good for once. She couldn’t use it to save anyone, and it just made her feel so helpless. Lowering her gaze to the ground, she waited until Jordan finished talking to the Sheriff, only glancing up when she heard him walking towards her.

“They’re going to take care of it,” He reassured her, and then probably seeing the state she was in, his features softened as he put a gentle hand on her shoulder. “C’mon, I’ll take you home. I think you’ve seen enough for the day.”

Lydia nodded and reached to open the car door but was taken by surprise when she saw Jordan open the door for her. Not one single guy had done that for her before. It made her lips curve up in a tiny smile as she slipped out of his jacket and gave it back to him, before finally stepping into the warmth of the car. 

 

**

                   

 

The whole ride back to town was quiet, because no matter how much Lydia tried to shake the guilty feeling away, she couldn’t, not only because she felt responsible for what happened, but also because the loss of life was so dear, so precious. That little girl had so many years ahead of her, so much to look forward in her life, and now it was all gone. And Lydia knew that if she didn’t grasp her powers soon, if she didn’t figure out how she could get to the people before they died, there was a terrible chance that more kids would turn up dead. On the whole ride back to her house, it was the only thought that echoed in her mind over and over again. That, and a silent hope wishing that the missing boy wouldn’t face the same fate as well.

“...That was incredible you know,” Jordan suddenly said, breaking the silence as soon as he pulled into the driveway of her house.

Lydia glanced towards him, shooting him a confused look. “What was incredible?”

“When you _screamed_ ,” he said, smiling slightly. “I thought it was amazing.”

Lydia couldn’t help but scoff at his comment. “As nice as that sounds, it doesn’t matter. It’s not like I helped anyone anyways.” She frowned, turning her gaze away from him.

“Don’t say that,” Jordan continued, “It does help. You might not think so, but it does. You give them a _voice_ , Lydia.” His statement caught her attention again, making her look up at him. He was still smiling, and this time it was a smile of awe, of admiration for _her._ “You might not be able to save them, but you give them a voice. You give them a chance for justice. And I think that’s amazing. And I’m sure they think that too.”

At that moment, Lydia was shocked about what Jordan just said. All this time, she was so used to people calling her crazy, weird, or a nutjob, but for the first time, someone was telling her that her powers were amazing. That her powers actually _helped_ people. For the first time, Lydia actually felt a bit confident about her banshee powers, that even though she might find the bodies already dead, at least she  _found them_. And to Jordan, that was apparently something incredible. It made her smile and actually feel good. “Thank you,” Lydia found herself saying softly, her gaze meeting his again. “No one’s ever said that to me before.”

“That’s too bad. People don’t realize how much amazing potential you have,” Jordan replied, giving her another smile that made something inside Lydia melt.  
  
She felt her heart race again like it did back at the abandoned cabin, but this time it was for a completely different reason. Lydia quickly turned away then, afraid that he might read what she was feeling somehow on her expression, and instead opened the door, stepping out. She glanced towards him again. “Goodnight, Parrish,” she whispered.  
  
“Goodnight, Lydia,” he said softly. “Stay safe, okay?”

His comment took her off guard for a moment, because she couldn’t remember the last time someone had said that to her, _if_ someone had ever said that to her. She gave him a small smile in return and nodded before closing the door shut and walking to her front door. It was only when Lydia was safely inside her home with the light turned on, did she see through her window, Jordan finally pull out of her driveway and disappear down the street.

And for the first time in a long time, Lydia fell asleep that night feeling safe.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
>  I'm really proud of this chapter, it's probably my favorite so far. :) I hope you guys like it as well!  
> also couldn't stop listening to this song [(x)](http://lostmemoria.tumblr.com/post/109691702147/iviez-tylerknott-holocene-with) while writing this!! Really helped in catching the tone/mood :3  
> **

_**JORDAN**_

* * *

 

“I think we should check near that warehouse again,” Jordan said, glancing up from the map sprawled out in between them. It showed the area in a twenty mile radius from Beacon Hills, and drawn out on the map were red circles marked at possible suspicious places to possibly check out in further pursuit for the missing boy, Charlie. 

Lydia clicked her tongue, shaking her head. She pointed a manicured finger at another spot on the map, way past the outskirts of Beacon Hills, almost edging towards the next town over. “I think we should check here first,” she argued.  
  
Jordan arched an eyebrow at her, frowning. “Why here? This is way out of the area.”

“ _I know,_ but it’s also closer to where we—” she paused momentarily, eyes flickering away from his gaze before continuing, “—found the _cabin._ Whoever it is that’s doing this, might be keeping Charlie close by.”  
  
Jordan watched as Lydia pressed her lips together, a gesture he realized she did whenever she was nerve wrecked, and right now, she was very. Ever since she had found the dead body of the little girl, Malory, a few days ago, Jordan noticed how tense Lydia had gotten around this particular case. He would see her flinch whenever the Sheriff mentioned it and he would watch her draw parallels between the two missing cases so late into the night that sometimes he would have to persuade her to let him drive her home. She was sleep deprived and tired, that much was noticeable to him, but another thing that came quickly to his awareness was how determined Lydia was about this case. He didn’t think there was anyone else working on this case who wanted to so desperately find Charlie and the person behind these kidnappings and killings as much as Lydia did.  
  
And because of that, Jordan gave into her request. “Alright, we’ll go to your destination first,” he said with a small sigh, glancing towards her and seeing a small triumphant smile appear on her face, making it difficult for him not to smile back at her.  
  
“I knew you would give in,” Lydia teased lightly as they started driving down the road again.  
  
Jordan merely shrugged, “Well, you are the expert when it comes to finding things.”  
  
That made Lydia scoff. “If you mean an expert at finding dead bodies, then sure.”  
  
“ _No_ , I mean an expert at helping the police out on cases that they probably couldn’t have solved without you,” he said proudly, sideways glancing at her and seeing her smile.  
  
“Well,” she said, turning her gaze out the window now where a light drizzle was starting to fall from the sky. “I can’t argue with that.”  
  
Jordan chuckled and continued driving to their destination, letting small talk fall between them to fill up the silence. The location they were heading out to was about fifteen miles outside of Beacon Hills, way past the grounds of what was considered the Preserve, where there was only a long stretch of forest and a single road that went on for miles until it reached the next town over in Beacon Hills County. And the further they drove, the more the rain started to pick up, which Jordan found strange since a summer storm wasn’t too common in California, but then again, it was California weather, unbelievably unpredictable. The road was mostly empty and they had just passed a mile marker when Jordan’s phone went off, making him pull over to the side and park the car. “It’s Stilinski,” He mouthed to Lydia, who nodded, before he took the call. “Sheriff?”  
  
A sudden echo of thunder roared in the distance, and Jordan saw Lydia visibly flinch in her seat, making his eyebrows furrow momentarily before he heard the Sheriff on the other line.  
  
“Parrish—I need you two—”  
  
Static intervened through the call, making the older man’s voice get broken up, and Jordan can only blame it on the weather. “Sir, I can’t hear you too well. Hello?”

“ _to come back_ —”

And before Jordan could say anything else, another burst of static erupted through the line, the call going dead, making him sigh and hang up.  
  
“What happened?” Lydia immediately asked. “What did the Sheriff say?”  
  
“Don’t know,” Jordan said, placing his keys back in in the ignition. “The line was full of static, probably because of the weather...Maybe we should head back.” He tried starting the engine up, but it merely let out a few exhausting huffs before dying on him like the line, making his eyes narrow in confusion. “Or...I guess not.” He tried a few more times, but to no success.  
  
“So, what’s the plan now, deputy?” Lydia asked, sounding far too amused despite the situation.  
  
“Honestly? I have no idea,” Jordan answered truthfully. He was thinking of just waiting it out until he got a weak signal on his phone, or Lydia’s, so that they could call a tow truck, but the strawberry blonde seemed to have other plans, with the way a smile played on her lips.  
  
“Good, because I do.”  And with that said, Lydia opened the door and walked out into the cold and light rain, leaving Jordan calling after her.  
  
“Wait, what? Lydia, where are you going?” He got out of the car and caught up with her, gentle hand grabbing her arm and stopping her.  
  
She turned to look at him, frowning. “Well, I’m not going to sit around waiting until we get a signal,” she said with an obvious tone and hands on her hips. “Might as well search the area. We’re close to where we were heading to anyways.”  
  
Jordan debated her words. It was cold, raining, and it only looked like the weather was going to get worse. And walking around in a forest where the ground was uneven and muddy, with Lydia wearing heels—but then again, when was she _not_ —didn’t sound too appealing to him. But he also knew that there was no way he was going to get Lydia back in the car now. “Are you sure about that?” He asked instead.

“Do I look _unsure_ , deputy?” She hummed, giving him a look that could kill.  
  
And god, did she look beautiful while doing it.  
  
“Uh, no,” he said quickly, well aware of how the back of his neck was probably red now.  
  
She smirked. “Shall we then?” Lydia turned on her heel again, walking ahead of him towards the woods, and Jordan could only follow the beautiful banshee who had him wrapped around her perfectly manicured finger far too well than he would ever admit.

 

 

**

 

They had only been looking around for a good half hour before the rain eventually started to pick up, drenching them to the bone, as they tried to find shelter from the storm. They were already too deep into the woods to go back to the car and Jordan didn’t think they would be able to find any sort of shelter in the middle of woods besides from underneath the tree canopies, but then they finally reached a clearing and Lydia pointed out what looked like a small deserted shack, which was more than enough for them. They hurried to it, only finding the front door jammed, but Jordan easily forced it open, letting the two of them rush inside.  
  
It was just as cold inside the shack as it was outside, but at least it was dry enough for them to stay in until the storm died out. “I don’t know when the rain’s going to stop, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to stop anytime soon, so I think we should—” The words get caught in his throat when he turned to look at Lydia, finding her not only shivering uncontrollably, but also a few inches shorter than he was so used to seeing her.

That was when he realized that she had kicked off her heels and was now standing there trembling, with her wet shirt and skirt clinging to her body, and he was trying his best not gawk like an idiot. But Lydia caught him staring and through chattering teeth asked, “ _W-What?_ ”  
  
“Nothing, it’s just, um, you’re much more shorter than I expected.” It came out of him unexpectedly, and even though he was drenched to the bone, he could still feel his face burn a little.  
  
Lydia snorted at his statement, still shivering. “Oh please, you’rejust _too tall._ ”  
  
Her statement made his lips twitch in a slight smile as he slipped out of his jacket, which wasn’t as soaked as her clothes, and wrapped it around her warmly. She was still frowning at him, and maybe that just made him smile a little more. “You know, if you had just listened to me, we wouldn’t be stuck in this situation in the first place,” he told her in a slightly teasing voice.  
  
“S-Shut u-up,” she snapped bitingly, bringing the warmth of his jacket closer to her body, which Jordan thought was cute.  
  
He opened his mouth to say something else then, but before he could, another loud roar of thunder resonated outside, much louder than the first time, catching Lydia off guard because she suddenly let out a tiny shriek and clinged to him. It _definitely_ caught Jordan off guard as well, making his breath hitch as the strawberry blonde held on to him as if for dear life, while the thunder continued to boom through the sky. And for a minute, Jordan actually considered wrapping his arms around her, but as soon as he raised them, they quickly fell slack back to his sides because he realized that _oh my god this is inappropriate!_ It didn’t matter if Lydia was eighteen and officially an adult, it didn’t matter if technically no one could see them, because he was still a cop who was six years older than her and he shouldn’t be giving her the wrong signals like that.  
  
So, slowly, but carefully, he pulled himself away from her, his hands still on her shoulders as he looked down at her. She was still shivering a tiny bit and even in the dark, he could see how her face was starting to lose its color a little. “I’m—I’m going to see if there’s a flashlight around here,” Jordan tried to say as steely as possible. “Just stay here and try to stay warm.”  
  
If she nodded, he didn’t see it because he was already letting go of her and making his way to the other room in the shack. He could tell that the place had been abandoned for quite a while because there was barely any furniture, and if there was, it was covered in cobwebs and dust. So it was no surprise that he didn’t find a flashlight either or anything that could possibly help them in some way, making him retreat back to the other room where Lydia was at. Jordan didn’t find her standing in the place he had left her, instead he found her in the corner of the room, her knees drawn up close to her chest as she huddled into herself for warmth, or what was left of it in her body. Her gaze flickered to him when he entered the room again, and he saw the way her wet hair clung to her face as her lower lip quivered.  
  
He couldn’t see her like that, so without thinking twice, he unbuttoned the first few buttons of his uniform shirt before sliding it up and off his torso, leaving him shirtless. “Here,” he said, handing her it. “You can change out of your shirt and wear mine, it’s much drier than yours.” And it was only when he saw Lydia’s facial expression change from being focused on how cold she was, to being focused on how, well, _shirtless_ he was, did Jordan feel that burning blush creep up his neck again.

Lydia still took his shirt however, and then got up, jacket still wrapped tightly around her as she walked towards the next room to change, but not before stopping next to him and giving him a very blatant once over. A coy smile managed to play on her lips. “Have you been going to the gym, _deputy?_ ” Her tone had a flirtatious edge to it that left Jordan absolutely speechless, even though he knew she was just teasing, because just leave it to Lydia Martin to leave him without words.  
  
And if he thought she was just going to leave him speechless, Lydia managed to take it one step further when she suddenly stepped closer to him and placed a hand on his chest, splaying her fingers against his cold skin that was now burning underneath her touch. His eyes widened and he swore his brain was going to short circuit if he didn’t figure out what she was up to. “Lydia…”  
  
“ _If you are_ ,” she finally whispered, “It’s doing absolute wonders on you. And I don’t just throw around compliments like that.” She flashed him a smirk and removed her hand, finally leaving him as she went into the next room to change.  
  
When she was gone, Jordan let out a sigh of relief, because _god damn it_ , he couldn’t let her have this effect on him. But then again, it was mostly his stupid fault anyways, because _what was he thinking?_ Giving her his shirt like that? He groaned, sliding a hand over his face while muttering about how much of an idiot he was.

 

 

**

 

Ten minutes later, Lydia walked back into the room just when Jordan was starting to wonder what was taking her so long. And when he glanced up at her, he knew why.  
  
Because even in a situation like the one they were in, Lydia still had to make a fashion statement.  
  
She was wearing his shirt alright, but she had tied the bottom of it into a knot so that it hugged the frame of her body instead of being too loose. She also left the first two buttons unbuttoned, revealing a smooth trickle of pale skin leading to the swell of her cleavage, that Jordan quickly flickered his gaze from, mentally cursing himself for even finding his gaze there in the first place. When he looked up at her face again, he saw Lydia biting her lower lip in a way that made it look like she wanted to say something but was unsure of whether she should or not, which struck Jordan as strange since usually she was blunt in what she wanted.

“Something wrong?” He asked her. 

“Yes,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest. “Because we’re both going to end up with _hypothermia_ if we keep this up.”

His eyebrow creased. “What do you mean?”  
  
Lydia sighed all a bit annoyed as she stepped closer to him again. “What I mean is, we have to find a way to stay warm if we’re going to be stuck here for the rest of the night. And _don’t you dare say you’re not cold_. This is not the time to be chivalrous,” she remarked.  
  
Jordan was sort of surprised by her statement, because he wasn’t trying to be chivalrous, although people too often told him he rubbed off as that type—but that wasn’t the point. “Uh, what do you suggest then?”  
  
“Sharing body heat.” She said it simply, not a flicker of emotion crossing her otherwise very serious expression.

Jordan didn’t know how to reply to her suggestion. In a way, he knew that her suggestion was completely rational and made absolute sense, but at the same time he was still torn between whether that was something appropriate for them to do. So instead of saying either yes or no right away, he asked what he thought was a far more important question. “Is that okay with you?”  
  
She blinked at him for a minute, his question probably taking her off guard. The only reason he had asked her that was because he didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable in any way, because that would be the last thing Jordan wanted.  
  
But then she regained her guard again, rolling her eyes at him now. “It’s a choice between hypothermia and staying warm and I very much rather stay warm, Parrish,” Lydia retorted.  
  
Jordan nodded, feeling a bit stupid. “Right, right, sorry.” And now that they both agreed, they looked for the dryest corner they could find in the shack before finally lying down together.  
  
At first, Jordan kept a safe distance between their bodies, but that didn’t work for Lydia, because she was scooting closer to him until her back was pressed against his chest. “The whole point of sharing body heat is to get close,” she said, tinge of annoyance in her tone. “So for god’s sake Parrish, put _your arms around me._ I’m not going to bite.”

Even though she was telling him to, Jordan was still hesitant. It was only when Lydia grabbed his arms and wrapped them around her waist, did he ease in his hold around her. Lydia hummed in approval, positioning herself comfortably against his back, while Jordan found himself resting his head gently on her shoulder.    
  
And then they were cuddling.

Except they weren’t cuddling—Jordan reminded himself. They were just sharing body heat. Trying to stay warm. _So not cuddling._ He tried to say that to himself as many times as he could so he wouldn’t feel that budding guilt deep in the pit of his stomach, but he was soon distracted when he felt Lydia start moving against him. Her hand snaked down to the pocket of her skirt as she took out her cellphone and earbuds.  
  
“What are you doing?” He asked her.  
  
“I have a hard time sleeping when it rains,” she said slowly as she placed one in her ear. “Music helps.” She handed him the other one and Jordan strangely took it without hesitation.  
  
Her numb fingers fiddled with her phone a bit until sooner or later, a song started to play. It was a soft, soothing kind of song with a sparse guitar playing and a soft voice singing. He didn’t recognize the song, and he didn’t bother to ask either, because he didn’t want to ruin the moment. The storm continued to rage on violently outside, but in a way, it almost seemed nonexistent to Jordan at that moment, as he focused on how Lydia’s breathing felt underneath his arms and how she smelled like a mix of rainwater and strawberries.  
  
When the song ended, Jordan figured that Lydia probably fell asleep so he moved his hand slowly so that he could take off her earbud, but then she suddenly moved in his arms so that she was facing him now. She looked at him with sad green eyes, and before he could ask her what’s wrong, she answered him. “Allison loved the rain.” Her voice was low, muffled almost.  
  
Jordan knew about Allison. Lydia had told him about her the night he saved her and Stiles from Brunski at Eichen House. He remembered it clearly, he had brought coffee for Lydia because she had been sitting in the break room for a few hours and he was worried that she hadn’t ate anything. He had found her teary eyed and cheeks a blistering red, and it didn’t take long before she was breaking down in front of him. Jordan remembered being taken off guard, because no matter how much sensitivity training he took, he would never be ready to comfort an eighteen year old girl who had gone through as much as Lydia did. But when she started talking about Allison, Jordan realized that more than looking for someone to comfort her, Lydia just wanted someone to talk to. Someone to listen to her.  
  
And listen, he did.  
  
“So whenever it rains,” she continued, one of her fingers idly stroking figure eights into his skin, “I’m reminded of her. And then I can’t sleep...because I’m constantly reminded of her. Her dimpled smile, her bright eyes, her voice. I...just miss her.”  
  
“I know how you feel,” Jordan finally said softly, taking her hand that was touching him and holding it within his.  
  
Lydia looked at him, his words and the way he held her hand bringing a certain interest in her eyes. “Have you ever lost anyone, Parrish?" 

He expected that question sooner or later. After all, she had confided in him, and it was only right for him to confide in her as well. “I’ve...lost a lot of people,” he said slowly. “It’s something you get used to when you’re in the army. In a way, you almost grow indifferent to it. But…”  
  
“But?” Lydia was staring at him intensely now. It was only right for her to anyways, since she didn’t know much about him. In fact, not a lot of people knew much about his background besides the fact that he was in the army, stationed in Afghanistan, worked as an HDT.  
  
But there was a lot more behind just that. “But, sometimes you end up losing someone that you never thought you would lose and it ends up hitting you so hard, that you end up wondering that it should have been you. Not them.” He watched as Lydia’s expression softened, a certain look crossing her features that showed that she silently knew what he meant. And Jordan knew she did, because she had gone through the same kind of guilt before.

“Who...was he?” She finally asked.  
  
“His name was Camden. Camden Lahey.” Jordan already knew the name would be familiar to Lydia, since she knew Camden’s brother, Isaac. “We were in the same unit, we always had been ever since we both joined the army around the same time. He was...my best friend.” Jordan felt the nostalgic memories rush through him again, and he felt Lydia look at him in a different sort of way, a new way, as if she finally understood him.  
  
And ever since he arrived in Beacon Hills, she was the first person he was telling this story to.  
  
“One day,” he continued, “I got hurt from an enemy attack, and I was suppose to go with a task force to patrol a nearby village from enemy attacks the next day. But Camden knew I got hurt the day before, so he told me he would go in my place.” Jordan remembered how despite him insisting that his injury wasn’t so bad that he couldn’t go, Camden was persistent, and Jordan still remembered that smile that Camden had given him before leaving, after telling him that he would see him later that day. It was the last smile Jordan would ever see on his best friend’s face. “The village that they went to go patrol turned out to be one of the villages the enemies were planning on bombing.”

He heard Lydia’s breath hitch at the sound of this, while a shiver ran down his own spine as he tried his best not to remember that day.

“Did anyone….?” Her voice trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.  
  
Jordan pressed his lips together and shook his head. “No one survived,” he said slowly, as a guilty feeling overwhelmed him again, because it was suppose to be him. _He_ was supposed to die, not Camden. And now that he knew he was a supernatural creature and couldn’t be harmed by fire, it made Jordan feel even more guilty. If only he had known that fact two years ago, then maybe he could have saved his best friend, he could have saved the villagers and the other men in the unit.  
  
But he couldn’t. And no matter how much he tried to reassure himself that it wasn’t his fault, he knew deep down, it was.

Lydia must have read what was going on in his mind, because she scooted even closer to him than she already was, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pulling him in a comforting embrace. “I know how it feels. You wish  you could go back into time and do something about it, but you know you can’t and you feel terrible. I’ve felt that way before. I’ve lost my best friend too,” she whispered soothingly. “But you have to remember that it wasn’t your fault.”  
  
Jordan didn’t hesitate in wrapping his arms around Lydia this time, because he needed this. They both did. “It wasn’t your fault either,” he whispered back to her, referring to Allison’s death, because he knew that Lydia felt like she was responsible for it.  
  
Lydia didn’t say anything in return, just pressed her face into his chest and let her breathing come to a slow as she drifted off to sleep.  
  
And just like that, they fell asleep in each other’s arms.

 

**

 

It was the middle of the night when Jordan woke up to Lydia screaming.

She screamed so loud that she drowned out the turbulent storm still going on outside and Jordan sat up abruptly, enveloping her in his arms without a second thought as he tried to calm her down, whispering soothing words in her ear and telling her that _it was okay._ He wasn’t able to completely comfort her the first time he heard her scream back at the Preserve, which is why he wanted to do it right this time. And when Lydia finally managed to calm down, taking deep breaths as she tried to find her voice again, Jordan tried asking her what happened.  
  
She was trembling in his arms still, and he knew it wasn’t because she was cold. “I think...I think...I saw someone die…,” she said hesitatingly.

Jordan noticed her hesitance and wasn’t sure either whether it was her banshee powers kicking in or not. Instead, he rubbed her arm up and down soothingly and said, “It’s okay, Lydia. It was just a bad dream. Try to get some sleep, okay?” 

She didn’t say anything at first, just stared down at her fingers for a few moments as if she was looking for something, before she finally gave him a weak nod and lied back down, curling up next to him. Jordan watched as she closed her eyes again and it only dawned to him then that what they were doing was far too _intimate_. Staying together in this abandoned shack, waiting for the storm to pass on, letting her wear his clothes and allowing himself to be so close to her like this.  
  
It was wrong.  
  
But at that moment, Jordan tried not to think about it. Instead, he waited for Lydia to fall asleep once more, making sure she didn’t have another bad dream again, before he ended up dozing off himself.

 

**

 

When morning came several hours later and the storm subsided, Jordan was the first to wake. Lydia was still sleeping soundlessly, chest gently rising up and down. Not wanting to wake her, he slowly but carefully slipped out of her hold and walked into the next room, checking to see if his phone had a signal. Two bars flashed at the top corner of the screen and he quickly took the opportunity to call up the Sheriff.  
  
The older man was in hysterics.  
  
“ _Where in the world have you been, Parrish?_ ”  
  
“The car broke down, sir,” Jordan answered, explaining everything that happened from getting stuck in the storm, to having to seek shelter in an abandoned shack. Of course, he left a few things out, like how he gave Lydia his shirt to wear, or how they nearly cuddled on the floor together for body heat. _That_ , Jordan kept to himself.  
  
The Sheriff sighed, “Well, I’m relieved to know that the two of you are alright. Lydia’s mother was worried sick about her—she is okay, right, Parrish?”

“Yeah, she’s, um, still sleeping,” Jordan said, hoping the Sheriff didn’t ask anymore questions of their whereabouts or what exactly happened last night.

Thankfully, he didn’t. “Good, because I don’t think I’d be able to tell her what I’m about to tell you right now,” The Sheriff said gravely. “We found Charlie’s body this morning.”  
  
Jordan’s breath hitched. He didn’t know what to say. He backtracked to when Lydia screamed last night, and wondered if this was what she meant when she thought she saw someone die. He had no idea how he was going to tell her this. “Where was he found?”

The Sheriff sighed. “In a brush of trees. His body was in even worse condition than Malory, hacked into pieces...I don’t think you want to tell Lydia that part.”  
  
Jordan nodded to himself. “Right. I’ll...let her know.”  
  
The Sheriff hung up, and as Jordan turned around while thinking about how he was going to break the news to Lydia, he nearly staggered when he saw the strawberry blonde already standing in front of him. “Lydia—”  
  
“He’s gone isn’t he?” She asked, tired eyes fixated on him for an answer.  
  
Jordan didn’t know what to say, so he simply nodded. He watched as Lydia looked away, her arms folded across her chest as she bit her lower lip furiously as if to stop herself from crying, but even then a small sob escaped from her. Hearing this, Jordan was immediately by her side. “I’m sorry, Lydia. I’m really sorry,” he whispered to her, because that was all he could say at the moment.  
  
Lydia’s sobs grew more insistent, her whole body quivering, and Jordan found himself holding her steady again as she cried into his chest. He could only imagine how she was feeling, how she was probably blaming herself all over again, when it wasn’t her fault. So, he kept telling her that. Kept whispering in the tangle of her strawberry blonde tresses that it wasn’t her fault, and he kept whispering it until she felt grounded again.  
  
And at that moment, as the morning sun of a new day streamed in through the broken windows, Jordan realized that his feelings for Lydia were far more complicated than he thought.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  

_**LYDIA** _

* * *

 

By the time Lydia and Jordan were back at the station, it was almost lunch time and the station was full of chaos. Deputies were running around back and forth to solve cases, while exchanging files with one another. Lydia and Jordan stood in front of the Sheriff’s desk, watching him study the files on Charlie. He was killed brutally, and Lydia could see that clearly on the pictures that were sitting on the Sheriff’s desk.

She couldn’t help but think that she failed again. She had failed to save _another_ life. And seeing the deep frown that was on the Sheriff’s face only made her feel even more guilty.

“His parents were very devastated,” Sheriff said, sighing deeply while rubbing his forehead, obviously frustrated. “I wish I could have at least help them by finding out who did this." 

“I’m sorry, Sheriff,” Lydia murmured, lowering her gaze. “I wish I could have helped.”

Sheriff shook his head, disapprovingly. “It’s not your fault, Lydia. You guys tried your best.”

She quietly nodded before glancing up and letting her gaze linger on Jordan. Lydia couldn’t help but think about what happened last night. It all felt like a dream. _Was it all just a dream?_ It couldn’t be, it had felt way too real. She still remembered it so clearly, the way her skin buzzed with heat from when his strong arms were wrapped tightly around her, and how his body felt so warm against her cold bare skin. Just thinking about it made her whole body start burning up again, and as she looked over at Jordan, she found his eyes look over at her as well, their gazes locking for what felt like a few long moments before she quickly looked away. She could feel her face burning up now as well, and she wouldn’t be surprised if her cheeks were a little pink, since she’s been finding herself blushing around the deputy more than she would like to admit.

Why was she feeling like this? _It wasn’t right._ He was six years older than her. Why the hell would he like or even be interested in an 18 year old girl like her? Not that Lydia hasn’t had older men interested in her before. She’s been with a few too, but they acted more like prepubescent fifteen year olds than _actual_ adults. Their only redeeming feature was that they were semi-good in bed, but other than that, nothing. Jordan, on the other hand, was different. He _actually_ acted like a mature adult, and treated her like an equal, unlike the other deputies in the station who just thought she was a nutjob or her previous boyfriends who just used her as arm candy. But then again, the whole town thought she had that reputation. Not Jordan, though. Even from the very beginning when he questioned her about showing up at crime scenes, he never called her crazy or treated her like some delinquent.  
  
And although she hadn’t showed it back then, she did appreciate it.

She slowly stole another glance towards him again, because _god_ , did his messy hair look good on him. Her gaze then lingered downward where he was clad in his uniform shirt again, a bit rumpled from when she tied it around her waist the night before, and a small smile twitched on her lips at the memory, because there was no way she could forget the way Jordan’s eyes had raked over her body when he saw her in his shirt. It had sent a pleasant shiver through her body then, and it sent a pleasant shiver through her body now.  
  
He wasn’t wearing his jacket over though, because not so ironically, that article of clothing was draped around her at the moment. Lydia was wearing his jacket _again_ , and she _loved_ the feeling of wearing it. It was a weird thing to admit, but she didn’t care. She huddled it closer to her body and inhaled in Jordan’s minty scent, and she wondered if he was a Big Red fan.

“Parrish! Lydia!” Sheriff’s voice suddenly caught her attention, making her jump slightly and look up at the older man, who was glancing between the both of them with an arched brow. “Are you two alright? You guys have been acting weird ever since you got here. What happened back there?”

Lydia gulped, the events of last night flashing through her mind once more. She was sure she was blushing even more now than before, and when she glanced over at Jordan, she saw the tips of his ear a bright red color. When both of them didn’t answer, the Sheriff sighed and changed the subject, deciding better not to question them further, which Lydia was grateful for. She can only wonder what Jordan told the Sheriff and what he decided to leave out from last night.

“Anyways, Parrish, we have a new crime scene going on, can you go and check it out?” Sheriff asked, getting Lydia’s attention again.

“Of course, sir,” Jordan nodded, and she noticed the way he was avoiding her gaze. As soon as the Sheriff left, Lydia grabbed her purse and was about to follow Jordan towards the doors when he stopped and turned to face her. There was a different look in his eyes this time. “It’s okay, Lydia. I can handle this one,” he told her, a bit steely. “You should just go home and rest.”

Lydia furrowed her eyebrows. She didn’t know whether to feel hurt, mad, or both. Jordan should know her well enough now to know that she wasn’t the type of person to just go home when people were in trouble. And in a way, she couldn’t help but feel hurt from that thought. She felt like Jordan was suddenly distancing himself from her. It was only yesterday he had confided in her, and for a moment she was starting to think that they had finally reached a point where they were getting comfortable with each other. Lydia thought they were a team. Wherever one goes, so does the other. She furrowed her eyebrows and crossed her arms on her chest.

“I wanna go. I wanna help,” She argued.

Jordan sighed. “No, Lydia. I can handle it. Plus, it could be dangerous.”

That made her frown, because wasn’t that why he was there with her? To make sure she didn’t get hurt. “That’s why you’re there. You can protect me,” she said, feeling slightly guilty that she was using that against him. But she didn’t feel guilty for too long.

“I can’t always protect you,” Jordan suddenly said, shocking her, and that—that was the last straw for Lydia.  
  
It made something inside her sink to the pit of her stomach and a painful expression crossed her features before she replaced it with a scowl. “Fine. Go handle it yourself since you’re so tough anyway,” Lydia huffed, and then walked out of the station angrily. She didn’t know where that feeling came from. All she wanted to do was just help, and Jordan wasn’t even going to let her to do that this time, and it made her mad because they were supposed to be a team. Sheriff assigned Jordan to her, and her to him. They were supposed to work _together._

Lydia got inside her car and turned on the ignition, driving out of the station parking lot and going to the one place she hasn’t visited in a while. And after what had just happened, she needed to go there now more than ever. She needed someone to talk to because she was starting to get scared about these feelings she’s been having for a certain deputy. She just couldn’t understand why. It was wrong and yet, it felt so right for her.

Lydia parked her car on the side of the street and made her way towards the grave. Her _best friend’s_ grave. Allison’s grave. There was a bouquet of flowers already there, from what she can only assume was from Scott before he left for his trip with Stiles. Sighing, she down on the grass, not knowing where to begin.

“Hey.” She finally said, her voice a whisper against the wind. “It’s been a while, I know. I’ve been just busy lately. Actually, it’s been a bit crazy the past few days.” 

Lydia stared at what was written on her gravestone. _Nous protégeons ceux qui ne peuvent pas se protéger eux-mêmes_ _._ Her fingers brushed across the letters while a single tear rolled down her cheek. “I miss you so much, Allison,” she started softly. “I wish you were here. I wish you were here to listen to what I want to say because I am so confused.” Lydia wiped the tear away and sniffed. “So, there’s this guy. Not just an ordinary guy and no, he isn’t a kanima or a werewolf. In fact, we don’t even know what he _is_...He works at the station with Sheriff Stilinski. Deputy Parrish.”

Lydia sighed and looked up to the blue sky, hoping that wherever she was, Allison was listening to her.

“Lately, we have been spending so much time with each other and everytime I stare at those brilliant green eyes of his…!” Lydia paused and groaned in frustration, “I… I feel butterflies in my stomach! I’ve never even felt anything like this before! I don’t understand. _What is this Ally?_ Please tell me. I’m so confused. I don’t know what to do. I know it’s wrong, but the truth is... It feels _so_ right. He makes me feel happy and safe. He saved my life, and he never once thought I was crazy like everyone else, and _he listens to me._ Ally, he’s the only one who listens to me.”

Lydia stared at the gravestone for a moment before she heard a small voice.

“Tell him then.”

She glanced up and saw a small girl, four or five years old, holding a small flower in her hand that resembled the flowers in the flower crown she had in her dark hair.

Lydia furrowed her eyebrows upon hearing the girl’s words. “I can’t just tell him..I...You’re too young to understand this,” she scoffed, looking away and blinking away tears that were now streaming down her cheeks more fully.

But the little girl didn’t go away. Instead, she sat next to Lydia The little girl sat next to her and handed her the flower. It was only then that Lydia noticed that the flower was a ranunculus. Her favorite flower. “This was supposed to be for my daddy, but you can have it. Please don’t cry. Daddy told me once that when you love someone, you should tell them that every day,” the girl said with a tiny voice.

Lydia couldn’t help but chuckle at the little girl’s comment as she wiped at her tear-stained cheeks. “What do you know about love? You’re just a little girl.” She gently caressed the young girl’s dark hair, wavy locks that reminded the strawberry blonde too much of a familiar huntress.

“I just know it.” The little girl shrugged, smiling a toothy smile at Lydia.

And Lydia couldn’t help but smile back. “What’s your name?”  
  
“Ally.”

Lydia felt herself suck in a breath at the sound of the name, the name of her best friend belonging to this tiny girl. But before she could say anything else, she saw Jordan walking towards them, prompting the little girl to quickly get up. “I’ll see you.” She said, flashing one last smile before running back to her family.

She watched the girl run off before finally glancing up and seeing Jordan with a nervous expression written on his face. _What was he doing here?_ Wasn’t he supposed to be checking out that crime scene? Lydia couldn’t help but scoff at him before glancing down at Allison’s grave again.

“Can we talk?” Jordan asked, sitting next to her.

Lydia sighed. “About what? Aren’t you supposed to be checking out that crime scene or something?”

Jordan didn’t say anything for a moment, so when she turned to look at him, she saw him gazing at the gravestone.

“So, this is Allison.” Jordan said quietly.

Lydia just nodded her head. “Yeah. Allison, this is Deputy Parrish.”

Suddenly, Lydia wondered if her best friend was looking down at her right now and what kind of expression she had on her face after telling her the truth about how she felt. Lydia’s cheeks suddenly turned pink at the thought. Did she _really_ just admit to that?

“Hey, Allison. Lydia told me about you.” Lydia’s thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Jordan’s voice. He had a guilty expression on his face as he continued, “And you would probably want to kick me right now for being such a jerk to her.”

Lydia’s lips twitched in a smile at his words, but she kept her mouth shut. She didn’t know where Jordan was going with this, but she wanted to hear it.

“I’m sorry, Lydia. I didn’t mean to offend you or anything,” he finally said. “I just wanted to make sure you got some rest. We had a long night last night, and you need sleep too. And when I said I couldn’t always protect you, I just meant that if anything were to happen to you, I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself.”

Lydia didn’t know how to reply to that, but she couldn’t ignore the warm swell in her chest from his words, because at least she knew he _did_ care for her. 

He sighed and continued, “I also don’t want to take you to just any crime scene that I don’t know much about. It could be dangerous and the suspect can still be there. I don’t want to put you in any danger...And about what happened last night, I’m sorry about that too. I shouldn’t have taken advantage of you like that.”  
  
Hearing the last part of his apology made Lydia snort indelicately. _So, that’s what he was worried about._ “No, it’s okay. It’s not your fault. We were just in a situation, and you were simply doing what you thought was best for me and I appreciate that,” she tells him slowly, giving him a soft reassuring smile in return.

Jordan didn’t say anything, just nodded, and when Lydia gazed into his brilliant green eyes, she couldn’t help but feel something flutter inside of her. Oh, those green eyes she could never get tired at looking at...“Actually, I’m sorry too,” she said, biting her lip, and grabbing his attention. “...For just storming out back there and getting all mad. I just wanted to help. I thought—” She paused, sighing, “I thought we were partners.”

“We _are_ partners, Lydia,” Jordan said, giving her a small smile. “In fact, that’s why I came here in the first place, because I realized that going to crime scenes isn’t really the same without my favorite psychic.”  
  
Lydia’s eyes widened at that last part, and she couldn’t help but give him a coy smirk. “I’m your favorite psychic, deputy?”  
  
He seemed to only realize what he had just said, because his face flushes a light red along with the tips of his ears, and Lydia has to stifle down a laugh. “I—I mean, you’re the only psychic I know of. Or sort of psychic at least.”  
  
Lydia couldn’t help but giggle, making the flustered deputy run a hand across the back of his neck sheepishly. “I think I get what you mean, Parrish.”  
  
His lips twitched into a smile as he continued, “Right, sorry. But, that’s why I came here, Lydia.” He suddenly placed a gentle hand on top of hers. “Because we’re supposed to work _together_ and that’s why I’m asking you to come with me.”

Lydia stared down at the way his hand was on top of hers, and she couldn’t help but feel pleasantly warm. “With you?” She managed to ask, surprised because she hadn’t expected that from his apology. “To the crime scene?”

Jordan chuckled at her surprised expression and nodded, slowly removing his hand from hers but keeping it close. “Yes, you. The _brilliant_ Lydia Martin will be accompanying me to a possible robbery scene.” And then his smile turned into a grin. “We’re partners, remember?”” 

Lydia laughed at the comment he copied from her. “Alright. I’ll come, but only since you asked so _nicely._ ”

Jordan flashed her a grin and stood up from the ground, holding out his hand again to help her up. She took it without hesitation and got up on her feet, glancing back down at Allison’s grave once more.

“Let’s go?” Jordan asked, bringing her out of her thoughts.

She nodded and smiled, following him to his cruiser, his hand still holding hers. And as they walked, Lydia couldn’t help but look back one more time at her best friend’s grave while smiling a little, wondering if Allison was smiling back down at her too.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the one day delayed posting guys! KC and I were pretty busy this whole week and we only finished the chapter this morning! It's a longggg one, so I hope you guys enjoy it and that it was worth the wait! :)
> 
> Also, dedicated to the lovely [@awkwardbanshee](https://twitter.com/awkwardbanshee) on twitter who's birthday was yesterday! Happy belated birthday Lana! :)
> 
>  

_**JORDAN** _

* * *

 

He remembered going back home after dropping Lydia off at her house, getting out of his work uniform and taking a cold shower before changing into sleeping clothes and then heading to bed. He didn’t remember falling asleep however, but then again he didn’t remember much of anything after he went to bed.  
  
And now, he was standing outside in a neighborhood he wasn’t really familiar with, except for the fact that it was the wealthier part of Beacon Hills. He stood in the darkness of the night, the cold crisp air blowing against him, but strangely, even though he was only in a pair of boxer shorts and a grey v-neck, he didn’t really feel cold.

It was the second time this had happened to him.

Glancing around his surroundings, Jordan found himself standing in front of one of the many huge houses in the neighborhood, each one equally unrecognizable to him. There were no lights on in this house except for the porch light and that assured him that at least someone lived there. And not wanting to be creepy by standing out there in the open where anyone could easily see him and call the police to report him for suspicious behavior, which he thought would be an extremely awkward situation, he walked over to the curb of the street and sat down on the pavement. He tried to figure out how he got there in the first place, but his mind was completely blank. He didn’t remember leaving his apartment, or in this case putting on any shoes, which made sense because he was barefoot and his feet were covered in dirt.  
  
Did he walk all the way here?  
  
Was he sleepwalking?  
  
God. His head hurt.

His hand pats the right pocket of his shorts and thankfully, he found his cell phone, even though he didn’t even remember putting it there in the first place. It was a long walk back to his apartment, that much he knew, and he was kind of a bit too shaken up from what just happened to want to walk all the way back, so he called the only person he could at that moment. 

When she answered after the third ring, she sounded drowsy and tired and Jordan felt extremely guilty for waking her up. But he knew she would understand. “Hey, Lydia. Sorry for calling up so late…,” he said.   
  
“Parrish? No, no. It’s fine. What’s wrong?” Her tone immediately went worried as if she knew something was wrong even though he hadn’t told her anything yet.   
  
“Well...I...I somehow ended up walking all the way to the other side of town and I have no recognition of how or why,” he replied slowly, realizing that it sounded even stranger saying it out loud like that.

“Oh.” It was all she said before silence filled the line for a few moments until she finally spoke again. “Where are you?”  
  
He glanced around for a street name. “Uh, at the corner of Maple.”  
  
“Okay, I’ll be there in a few minutes.”  
  
Jordan was about to protest, but he knew that was pointless to do since he _called_ her in the first place anyways, so he just nodded even though she couldn’t see him. “Thanks.”  
  
After they hung up, it took Lydia exactly fifteen minutes to show up in her blue Toyota and park across the street from him. The drivers side of the car opened and she stepped out wearing a silk robe over a tank top and PJ shorts and Jordan tried his best to keep his gaze away from her bare legs as she rushed over to him. “Are you okay?” She asked, her hand reaching out to touch his arm instantly. 

“Yeah,” he said, “except for the fact that I have no idea how I got here.” He didn’t mean for it to sound cheeky, but Lydia narrowed her eyes at him anyways.  
  
“Have you ever sleepwalked before?”  
  
“No—Well,” Jordan paused, his mind going back to that one night when he was in the army that he always thought was just a coincidence. But now, knowing he was a supernatural, nothing seemed like just a coincidence anymore.  
  
“Hey,” Lydia’s grip on his arm slid down so that he was holding his hand softly now, making him look down at her. Her eyes were full of genuine concern for him and he can’t remember the last time someone’s looked at him like that. “You can tell me anything. And who knows, maybe it’ll help us figure out what you are.”

Part of Jordan wanted to tell her, he really did, just like how he had told her about Camden the night before, but at the same time he didn’t want to burden her with his own problems. She was already doing so much for him by helping him with this supernatural stuff and now, helping at the station as well. He didn’t want to bother her anymore.   
  
“It’s nothing,” he said, and then wanting to change the subject, “do you think it has something to do with my supernatural ability?”  
  
She bit her lip and shrugged, unsure. “What’s the last thing you remember doing?”  
  
“I...went to bed,” Jordan said slowly, “but I don’t remember going to sleep. I...don’t remember anything from then and now, actually.” He glanced down at his dirt covered feet before looking back up at Lydia, who was now staring at him intensely with her hazel eyes. “What?”  
  
A small innocent smile curved on her lips. “Nothing. It’s just...you remind me of myself.”  
  
“Oh.” It was the only thing he could say at that moment because he was suddenly reminded of all the things Lydia had gone through during her early Banshee days, where just like him, she didn’t know what she was. Except, _unlike him_ , she had been alone in trying to figure out. He couldn’t even imagine all the things she had to go through, and he only had a vague idea of some of those things, not because Lydia told him, but because he personally asked the Sheriff one day about it after being thrown into the supernatural loop. From being mauled by a psychopathic werewolf, to finding out the love of her life was a lizard creature, and only discovering what she was because someone called a Darach had told before nearly choking her to death—it made Jordan shiver and feel guilty at the same time, because all he wanted to do was take all her pain away but he couldn’t even do that.

“Aren’t you _cold?_ ” Lydia’s voice brought him out of his thoughts and he saw her giving him a quick once over, scrutinizing his attire, but Jordan could also see that slightly appreciative glint in her eyes as she checked him out.  
  
He probably turned a light shade of pink as Lydia’s eyes met his again, a teasing look in her expression. He was only wearing shorts, a thin v-neck, and no shoes or socks, all the perfect reasons for a normal person to be cold.  
  
But then again, he wasn’t exactly a normal person. Normal people usually didn’t survive being burned alive.

“Strangely, no,” he replied sheepishly. “Maybe it’s a supernatural thing.”  
  
Lydia smiled. “Maybe.”   
  
Then, tugging on his hand and insisting that she should take him home now, Jordan nodded and entered the passenger’s seat of her car. The car ride back to his house was mostly quiet except for when he gave Lydia directions to his place, because it was only then when he realized that she’s never been to his place before until now. When they finally reached his apartment building, Lydia walked him to his door and followed him inside even though he told her it was okay, since he was already bothering her enough. 

“Don’t worry about it,” She said as he switched on the lights, illuminating the room. His place was mostly bare, except for the basic necessities, a couch in the corner, a TV that he rarely watched, except for when he forgets to turn it off before falling asleep on the couch after a late shift. Lydia turned towards him. “Where’s the kitchen? I’ll make you some coffee.”  
  
Jordan was about to protest but then Lydia threw him a look, and he knew better than to do that. So instead he pointed towards the direction of his kitchen and watched Lydia disappear behind the corner of the hallway after telling him to sit down and to try and relax. He did just that by plopping down on the sofa with a sigh, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get himself to relax. His mind was too focused on the strangeness of the situation and trying to figure what happened, while also keeping in mind how much this incident reminded him of another one. 

A few minutes later, Lydia came back with a piping cup of coffee which she placed in his hands before taking a seat on the couch next to him. Their knees brushed slightly and the first feeling of a shiver runs through him when he noticed how close she was sitting to him now. So close, that when he glanced towards her, he could see the freckles scattered across her nose and cheeks, which he very much wanted to spend the rest of the night counting, and it only dawned on him then that it was probably the first time he’s seen her without makeup.   
  
And even then, she still managed to take his breath away.  
  
“You okay?” She asked. 

“Y-yeah, I’m good,” he said quickly, the stutter in his voice telling otherwise as he tore his gaze away from her and focused on the cup of coffee in his hands. He took a sip and was surprised when the coffee tasted exactly the way he usually took it, realizing that Lydia’s been spending so much time with him now she knows exactly what kind of coffee he takes without even asking.  
  
And surprisingly, he knew exactly what kind of coffee she took as well. Black, with a bit of honey and a scant of sugar. Sometimes cinnamon. 

God, when did he get this deep?  
  
Not that knowing exactly what kind of coffee she took meant _anything_ —

“Stop lying, Parrish,” Lydia scoffed, bringing him out of his thoughts again. “You’re a terrible liar.” 

He was. Camden would tell him the same thing

Jordan sighed. “I’ve already bothered you enough tonight, Lydia.”  
  
She snorted. “Trust me, when you’re Beacon Hills teen banshee, your beauty sleep gets bothered more than enough.” He frowned , but she smiled bright. “So stop avoiding the question, and just tell me.” 

He sighed deeply once more, rubbing his face in his hands before glancing up towards her again. “This...has happened before,” he revealed slowly.  
  
“When?” Lydia asked.  
  
“When I was stationed in Afghanistan. Remember when I told you about Camden and what happened to him?” He swallowed hard as she nodded before continuing on, “The night before the...the accident, I ended up sleepwalking—or well, I _thought_ it was sleepwalking, to the village. On the night before it b-blew up...I didn’t know that then of course, and even after it happened, I thought it was just a coincidence. It didn’t mean anything. I mean, it still made me feel guilty, but I didn’t think it had anything to do with me. But now…”  
  
“You think it does?” She finished for him. “You think it has something to do with your supernatural ability?”  
  
Jordan nodded. 

They sat there in the silence for a few minutes before Lydia started up again. “You know...What you’re telling me, it kind of reminds me of what I went through when I was trying to figure out my banshee powers. Ending up in random places and not knowing how or why, and then finding the dead bodies…” She trailed off as a shiver ran through her, and Jordan had to stop himself from putting a gentle hand on his shoulder. “I find it interesting that you’re going through something similar. But from what I remember in reading the bestiary last time, none of those symptoms matched with any of the creatures we had listed down.”

Jordan watched Lydia’s eyebrows furrow as a puzzled expression crossed her face. She was just as confused as him, but he didn’t blame her. The whole thing confused him too. “What if,” he started again, grabbing her attention, “ _What if_ I’m a banshee too?”

He should have known that the suggestion would sound absolutely ridiculous, because Lydia lets out a laugh that she tried very hard to stifle. “I think you’re forgetting one thing,” she said in between her giggles, “banshees _are_ females. And the last time I remembered, you’re a guy, Parrish.”

Jordan could feel his face burn slightly at his stupidity, as he ran a hand embarrassingly through his hair. How could he forget that? He literally scoured the whole web for information about banshees and that was probably one of the most obvious pieces of information about them.  “O-Oh, right,” he mumbled, getting another low giggle from Lydia.

“Hey,” she suddenly said, placing her hand on Jordan’s knee gently and making his eyes widen at the gesture. “I know how you’re feeling right now,” she continued, “You feel confused and lost and like you don’t know who you are...And that’s okay. I told you I’d help you figure it out and I will. We’ll figure it out together, okay?”  
  
Jordan gazed into the strawberry blonde’s hazel eyes, wishing he could get lost in them forever. But instead, he just nodded and then glanced towards the time, realizing that it was already past midnight and he didn’t want to keep her up any longer. “It’s getting late, you should get going now,” he said softly. “Can you get home by yourself okay?”  
  
Lydia snorted and stood up. “I’ve disappeared from a hospital and walked around the preserve for two days _naked_ before. I think I’ll be just fine, deputy.” She started heading towards the door, and before Jordan could stop himself, he was grabbing her hand, stopping her.

It was her turn for her eyes to widen as she glanced back at him, her perfect brow arching up curiously while staring at the way he held her hand. “What?” She asked in the silence of the room.  
  
“Text me when you get home, so I know you got back safely,” he told her quietly, but seriously, as he slowly let go of her hand, his fingers lingering against hers slightly before he pulled away.  
  
Lydia’s eyes rested on him momentarily, her lips pressed into a thin line as she nodded. “I will,” she promised.

Jordan watched as she turned away and stepped out of his apartment, the door closing behind her as she left him alone. He stood there for a few minutes before finally heading back to bed. He didn’t go straight to sleep though, just laid there, staring up at the ceiling, and about fifteen minutes later, his phone vibrated next to him on the bedside table. 

**  
LYDIA:**

_I’m home. Night, deputy._

  
He smiled as he typed a quick response back.

_Night, Lydia. Sleep well._

  


 

**

  


 

When Jordan walked into the station the next day, he didn’t expect to see Lydia there already. But what he also didn’t expect to see was Lydia standing near Deputy Haigh’s desk, talking to Haigh’s _nephew_ , Hadden, who Jordan only knew as a fresh out-of high school punk, who was just as rude and obnoxious as his uncle. So what was Lydia doing talking to _him?_  

He watched as the strawberry blonde threw her head back in laughter, flipping her long curls across her shoulders flirtatiously, her eyes sparkling as she glanced back at Hadden who was smirking at her, his eyes taking in every curve of her figure.  
  
Jordan didn’t like how he was staring at her.  
  
He didn’t like it _at all_.

Unconsciously clenching his jaw, Jordan tread into his office and sat at his desk, trying to focus on his work instead of the sweet sound of Lydia’s laughter mixed with a chuckle or two from Hadden. But he couldn’t concentrate, and it was only when Lydia walked in about ten minutes later, smiling brightly as she plopped down in the seat across from him, crossing her ankles, did he finally bring his attention to her. “Why were you talking to Hadden?” He blurted out, a bit too abruptly than he would have liked.  
  
Lydia looked up from a file she was reading and stared at him with narrowed eyes. “ _Why_ do you care?" 

Jordan didn’t know how to answer that. Why did he care? “Because Hadden isn’t exactly someone anyone should be hanging around,” he tried to say as steely as possible. “If he’s anything like Haigh, well, you get the point.”  
  
Lydia scoffed. “He seemed pretty friendly when I talked to him.”

“Yeah, and he seemed pretty friendly when he called me an ass after pulling him over for driving 30 over the speed limit on a residential street,” he mumbled under his breath, annoyed.

“He asked me out to dinner tonight,” she suddenly said, making him almost drop a stack of files to the floor in shock.  
  
“He asked you _out?_ And what did _you say?_ ”

“I said yes of course,” Lydia replied casually, as she went back to looking at the files. “He’s kind of cute, I guess.”

_I guess?_ Jordan wanted to tell her that she could easily get any guy, a guy much better than Hadden, but he didn’t because he had no right to say that. But he could at least have concern for her. “Lydia,” he started with a much more soothing tone than before, “I don’t think you should be going out with him. He’s...not a good guy.”

“Deputy, I think I can decide who’s a good guy and who isn’t,” Lydia said, irritation clearly rising in her voice. “I’ve been with enough bad boys to know that.”

“But Lydia—”  
  
“Lydia?” The Sheriff suddenly appeared at the doorway, glancing between the two of them. “Do you think you can come look over at this file for a moment?”  
  
“I’ll be glad to, Sheriff,” Lydia said, standing up and shooting Jordan a look before following the Sheriff out.

The rest of the day, Jordan barely saw Lydia because she was too busy helping the Sheriff with things, but when he did see her, she made it absolutely clear that she didn’t want to hear him dictating who she should date or not, so he didn’t bring it up again. And at around eight p.m., Jordan watched through the window of his office Lydia leave with Hadden, her arm linked with his, as they walked out of the station together.

He knew there was nothing he could do about it. Lydia could go out on dates with whoever she wanted to, but then why was it bothering him _so_ much? To the point where he couldn’t get himself to focus on his paperwork anymore, his attention swaying to the strawberry blonde over and over again, until he pushed the files away and leaned back into his chair, sighing deeply. What the hell was wrong with him? Why was she having this kind of effect on him?

Jordan knew the answer. He just didn’t want to admit it.

  
  


 

**

 

 

He was going to call it a day at around eleven o’clock, ready to clock out when his cell phone buzzed and the caller ID showed Lydia’s name.  
  
He answered in a heartbeat.  
  
“Hello? Lydia?”  
  
She didn’t say anything, but he could hear her breathing heavily over the line, and he knew something was wrong.  
  
“Lydia? Is everything okay? Are you okay?” He asked, worry filling his tone, as he wondered why she wasn’t saying anything and whether or not she was still with Hadden.  
  
But then she finally spoke. Her voice came out choked, “Can y-you...come pick me up?”

Something inside him broke when he heard those words, because his suspicions were confirmed. Something was _wrong._ “Where are you?” He asked immediately, as he already grabbed for his jacket and was heading out of the station, jogging to his cruiser.  
  
“At the c-corner of 6th street and Oaks,” she said slowly.  
  
Jordan almost froze when he heard the location. He knew that part of town. Not only was it isolated from the main part of Beacon Hills, it was also considered the bad part of town, where the streets weren’t well lit and there was always some kind of crime going on around those parts. And hearing that Lydia was there, probably _alone_ , made him step pull out of the parking lot quickly and step on the gas pedal. “I’ll be there in ten minutes,” He told her. “Just stay there, okay?”  
  
He could almost imagine her nodding. “Okay. Just...c-come fast. Please.”  
  
“I will,” he said, before finally hanging up and going way over the speed limit as he sped down the empty streets. 

When he finally turned on the corner of 6th and Oaks, he found her sitting on the curb of the street in the darkness, bright hair standing out like a flame. Jordan parked the car and immediately got out, running over to her. “Lydia! Are you okay?” He asked as soon as he got close enough. 

Lydia didn’t say anything, but when she glanced up at him, Jordan could see that her eyes were red and her cheeks were stained with dry tears. She had been crying. Something inside him sunk to the pit of his stomach as he slowly kneeled down next to her, gentle hand coming up to rest on her shoulder. “Lydia. What are you doing here all alone? Where’s Hadden?” He tried asking calmly.

Instead of saying anything, she just shook her head, her now loose strawberry blonde curls spilling down her shoulders and back as she did so. She brought her knees up closer to her chest and Jordan could see that she was visibly trembling.  
  
Whatever had happened, he knew it wasn’t good. And he knew that it had to do something with Hadden.  
  
But instead of questioning her any further, he decided that if she didn’t want to speak right now, he wasn’t going to force her. “Let me take you home,” he said softly instead, and she nodded, letting him help her up and on to her feet.  
  
Jordan took that moment as he lead her back to the car to make sure she didn’t have any injuries on her and fortunately to his relief, she didn’t. He opened the passenger door for her then, watching as she slid in quietly, and he closed the door once her feet were all the way in before heading back to the driver’s side. Once they were back on the road, Jordan waited for her to say something, anything, but she stayed quiet, keeping her gaze lowered as she fiddled with her fingers in her lap.

He wanted to know what happened, how she ended up in one of the worst parts of town, whether Hadden misbehaved with her, and most importantly, why she was alone. All these questions crossed his mind, along with more, as he turned a right at the next intersection and got back on to the main street with the intention of dropping her back off at her house.

“You can say it.”

After a few more minutes of the long drawn-out silence, Lydia finally said something, and Jordan had no idea what she meant.  
  
“Say what?” He asked her, confused. 

“Don’t act _stupid_ ,” she hissed.

“Lydia, I really don’t know what you’re talking about,” he tried to tell her honestly, because he really didn’t.  
  
She turned in her seat so that she was looking at him now and through his peripheral vision, Jordan could tell she wasn’t pleased. “Tell me that I was _wrong_ ,” she said, voice an octave louder. “Tell me that I was stupid, and that I should have listened to you!”

Hearing this, Jordan quickly checked his side mirrors and pulled to the shoulder of the road. He put the car in park and then turned towards Lydia, giving her his full attention. “Why do you think I would say that?” He asked her, voice calm and soothing.

She wasn’t looking at him anymore, but by the way her arms were crossed against her chest and how her brow was furrowed, he could tell she was angry, but he couldn’t tell if she was angry at him or herself. And when she didn’t say anything in response, Jordan let out a sigh. “Lydia, what I said to you back at the station, I had no right to say it, to interfere in your life like that, and I’m sorry—”  
  
“He tried touching me.”

The words left her mouth so suddenly, that Jordan had to take a few seconds to register what she just said. “He—Hadden tried touching you?” When she silently nodded, his grip on the steering wheel tightened and all he could think was, _that bastard._

He wasn’t going to let him get away with this. _  
  
_ But he would think about how to deal with Hadden after—right now, he had to make sure Lydia was okay.  
  
“H-He tried touching me...and I said no...and he told me to get out of the car..and…,” her voice trailed off after that, but Jordan didn’t need to hear more to get the full picture.  
  
He was angry, angry at himself for not being able to stop it from happening, angry because Lydia had to go through it. His jaw clenched and he could feel the anger boiling over inside him again, just like how it did back at the warehouse with the Wendigo. And for a moment, he didn’t think he could control it, he didn’t think he could repress it, he felt like lashing out at something, at anything, at _Hadden_ , because _who the hell_ did he think he was—  
  
“Parrish?”  
  
He felt Lydia’s hand touch his very gently, making his eyes open where he found her staring at him. “Are you okay?” She asked him.

Jordan nodded. “I...should be asking you that, Lydia. I’m sorry you had to go through that. No one should have to go through that. You shouldn’t have had to go through that,” he told her softly.  
  
Lydia gave him a small, weak smile. “Thanks...for coming and picking me up.”  
  
“Of course, anytime,” he said, returning the smile as he started the car once more. He pulled back on to the road and took a left at the next street, which was the opposite direction to her house.

“I thought you were taking me home?” She asked, looking at him again.  
  
He glanced towards her. “You haven’t ate yet, have you?” He had heard her stomach growling ever since they got into the car.

At first, he expected Lydia to deny it, but instead she pressed her lips together and nodded a bit embarrassingly, which he couldn’t help but think was adorable.

“Good. Because I’m starving too, and I know a diner nearby that serves great food,” he told her, “that is, if it’s alright with you?” 

He found another tiny smile crossing Lydia’s lips before she nodded again, right as Jordan pulled into the diner’s parking lot. And when he opened the passenger door for Lydia for the second time that night, earning an appreciative look from her, he’s figured that it’s become a natural tendency for him to do. They walk into the diner together, the warmth of the place enveloping them as Jordan placed a gentle hand on the small of Lydia’s back to lead her to a nearby empty table. His fingers barely grazed her back when he suddenly pulled away, realizing what he was doing, and how inappropriate it was, especially after what she had just gone through. 

Lydia saw his hesitation, and to his surprise, moved closer to him. “It’s okay,” she said to him reassuringly. 

Jordan’s eyes widened slightly, but Lydia merely smiled as she reached for his hand, placing it back on her waist, and he could only blink at her while standing there, dumbstruck. 

“Are you going to lead me over to a table, or are we just going to stand here?” She suddenly asked, a tiny smirk playing on her lips as Jordan snapped out of it.  
  
He nodded and like she said, led her over to one of the empty booths where he slid into the seat across from her. Looking at her now, she seemed a bit more calm than when he first found her sitting at the curb of the street, but he couldn’t help but feel like she was just putting up a front. 

And he couldn’t help but wonder how many times she’s had to do that.

A waitress came over soon after they were seated, a blonde woman who Jordan’s seen frequently whenever he’s come here after a late shift. She gave him a flirtatious smile as she took their orders, before promptly walking away, an extra sashay in her hips which he couldn’t help but think was especially for his eyes. When he turned back towards Lydia, he saw that she had grown awfully quiet, her gaze lowered to her lap and her hair falling in front of her face like a beautiful red curtain. “Are you sure you’re okay, Lydia?” He found himself asking again, his concern swelling for the strawberry blonde. “Hadden...didn’t hurt you or anything right?” 

She shook her head and then sighed deeply, something still obviously bothering her. 

Noticing this, Jordan reached over and softly placed his hand over Lydia’s on the table, making her glance up at him. “Hey, if we’re gonna be partners, you should know that you call tell me anything, alright?”

A smile reached her lips slightly as she nodded. “I just...It’s just I feel like boys only want me for my body all the time.”

When the words left her lips, Jordan was shocked. Shocked, because he didn’t know that Lydia actually thought that way about herself. “Lydia,” he started, squeezing her hand a bit, “any boy would be lucky to have you. You’re intelligent, confident, caring, and extremely beautiful...And if boys only see you for your looks then not only are they missing out on all the other amazing things you are, but they’re also not worth your time. You deserve so much better.”  
  
He watched Lydia beam at his words, before looking down shyly, but he didn’t miss the slight pink that started to color her cheeks. It made his own face redden as well, because he can’t remember the last time he’s seen Lydia Martin blush before.

“Thanks,” she murmured.

Jordan opened his mouth to respond, but before he could say anything, the waitress came back with their food, a slightly surprised expression falling on her face when she saw his hand on Lydia’s still. “Oh, sorry, am I interrupting something?”

“No,” he replied, letting his hand slip slowly away from the strawberry blonde’s. “But can you please make it into one bill instead of two?” He glanced towards Lydia and smiled. “It’s my treat.”

Lydia frowned at him and then looked up at the blonde waitress, “No, it’s fine, just keep it at two separate bills, please.” It was Jordan’s turn to frown, but she merely smiled at him and said, “What? I’m an independent woman who is perfectly able to pay for her own food, Deputy.”

Jordan couldn’t help but grin. “Lydia, please. Me paying for you isn’t going to diminish how I already view you as a strong independent woman, I’m merely doing it because I want to do it. Nothing else.”

The blush on Lydia’s cheeks deepened and he couldn’t help but adore the sight.

“Wow, where can I get a man like you now?” The waitress’ flirtatious remark made Jordan flush now, as the blonde giggled and walked away, but not before shooting him a suggestive wink.

And if he thought that made him blush, then the glare he saw Lydia throw towards the waitress definitely didn’t help him feel any less flustered.

They ate in mostly silence which Jordan was actually grateful for, because he was pretty sure he's said enough in the past fifteen minutes they've been here and that if he said anymore, he would be as red as a tomato.

Because she definitely had that effect on him, and now he was starting to think that maybe he had the same effect on her, telling by the way she was blushing earlier.

After they finished eating, the waitress came back with only one bill, to Jordan’s relief, as he reached for his wallet. But as he looked down at the bill in front of him, he noticed a curly scrawl at the bottom of the receipt. A phone number.  
  
“Call me whenever you like,” the waitress teased coyly as she collected their plates before moving along.

Jordan was sure he was red in the face this time around, not because the waitress had given him her number—that happened frequently with him—but because Lydia had seen the whole thing happen. And when he glanced towards the strawberry blonde, he could see her gaze fixated on the receipt with the scrawled phone number, obviously wondering what he was going to do with it.

In any other case, he would have crumpled it in his hand and thrown it away on the way out, but this time, he wanted to see what Lydia’s reaction was.

So, carefully but trying to seem casual about it, he folded the piece of paper and placed it in the back pocket of his jeans. When he looked back up at her, her gaze was no longer on him, but he did notice the way her arms were folded across her chest now and how her brow was furrowed. And after he finished paying the bill, Lydia stomped out of the restaurant with such fierceness that for a moment Jordan was afraid that the floor was going to break underneath her heels.

When he pulled out of the parking lot of the diner and was back on the road, she didn’t utter a single word to him.

He had to be the first to break the silence. “Lydia? Is something wrong?”

He didn’t expect a response, but then she suddenly blurted out, “Do you _like her?_ Do you think she’s pretty? Are you gonna ask her out?”

Taken back by her sudden response, Jordan ended up pressing down on the brakes _so_ hard because he couldn’t possibly believe what he was hearing. When he stopped at the intersection with a harsh jerk, he turned to Lydia with wide eyes. “ _What?_ Who are you talking about? Are you talking about the waitress?” If this was really about him keeping the woman’s phone number, he was completely shocked, because he didn’t expect this type of reaction. “Lydia, I’m not going to ask her out,” he tried clearing up.

She quickly replied, “Really? Then why’d you keep her number? We all know you like her, Parrish.” He tried opening his mouth to retaliate, wondering what the heck did she mean by _we_ , but she cut him off, “I thought we were partners. I thought we told each other everything. Isn’t that what you said?” She scoffed. “Stop lying. It’s obvious you like her.” With that said, Lydia then got out of the car, slammed the door shut behind her, and walked away, leaving Jordan absolutely dumbstruck. 

It took a few moments for him to grasp the situation again, and also shut his jaw which had dropped from watching her reaction, before he was getting out of the car too and jogging after the strawberry blonde. “Lydia, wait!”

She didn’t stop however, just kept on walking stubbornly a few feet ahead of him.  
  
“Lydia, at least let me give you a ride home,” he continued to call after her. “It’s way too late for you to be walking home alone!” He watched as she turned the corner of the street, completely unphased by him. Sighing, he followed after her but as soon as he turned  the corner— 

“Hey, pretty girl.”

The comment came from a group of guys standing around the sidewalk, and right in the middle of them stood Lydia. One of the guys, tall and obviously drunk, walked closer to her, reaching out his hand to cup her chin.

Anger flared through Jordan.

“Leave me alone,” he heard Lydia say, jerking away from the man’s touch while trying to move around them to get away, but it was no point, because they were blocking her only escape route.

“Why? Don’t you want to stay and keep us company?” The man who had touched Lydia sneered, his hand reaching for Lydia’s arm now as he grabbed her in a bruising grip and pinned her against the wall.

Lydia screamed and Jordan immediately took out his gun without hesitation. “Step away from her!”

When the other guys saw him in his police uniform and that he was holding a gun, they quickly backed off, stepping away from Lydia. But the man who still had his grip on Lydia, who now looked completely terrified and teary eyed, didn’t move. Instead, he merely smirked at Jordan, as if the whole situation amused him to no end. “You don’t bring a gun to a fist fight, officer,” he smirked.

Jordan clenched his jaw, his grip on the gun slowly loosening before he finally put it back into his holster. “If you don’t want to get hurt, I suggest you let go of her, otherwise I’ll take matters into my own hands,” he said through gritted teeth.

His threat only made the man laugh, his malicious laughter echoing in the air around them. “Is that supposed to be a warning?”

Jordan glared him down. “A threat.” 

The man didn’t like the sound of this because his hands balled up into fists and before Jordan knew it, the guy was swinging a harsh fist towards him, and he swore he heard Lydia let out another scream, but just as the man’s fist grazed his upper lip, Jordan quickly dodged it. The man stumbled from his dodge, and Jordan took the quick opportunity to aim a punch right at his jaw, making him stumble even more, giving Jordan the upper hand as he pushed the man against the wall, pinning his hands behind his back easily as he extracted the cuffs from his holster. “After tonight, you’re going to regret ever trying to sexually harass a girl in the first place,” he growled in the man’s ear as he locked the cuffs on to each wrist. 

It didn’t take long after that for a police force to arrive, rounding up the guys into the cruisers as Jordan explained what happened to one of the deputies. After all the procedures were carried out, he turned to check and make sure Lydia was alright, but realized that she was nowhere in sight. Walking away from the deputies and cruisers, he turned the corner of the street and quickly jogged down the sidewalk, his eyes scanning his surrounding area, trying to catch sight of the strawberry blonde. And just when a worry started to swell in his chest again, he turned another corner and found her. 

Lydia was standing next to his cruiser, arms wrapped around her body as she visibly trembled, and Jordan knew it wasn’t because of the weather. She had been harassed two times in _one_ night and Jordan couldn’t help but think that this wasn’t the first time something like this has happened either. And just the thought of it made something inside him break all over again, as he walked over to her. He didn’t know what to say to her, didn’t even know if he could say anything to take her pain away. He touched her shoulder lightly, making her flinch slightly as she glanced up at him. Jordan could see her eyes filled with tears and her face a blistering red from crying too much.   
  
“Hey, hey...Let me take you home, okay?” he told her softly.

She nodded and then opened the door of the cruiser, sliding into the seat as Jordan made his way to the driver’s side. He pulled back on to the street and after such a long day, he finally took her home.

  


 

 

**

 

 

His right fist and his upper lip were slightly bleeding and he only noticed when he pulled into Lydia’s driveway and she pointed it out. 

“Come inside and I’ll clean up your wounds,” she told him, opening the car door. 

Jordan shook his head. “It’s fine, really Lydia. It’s just a scratch. And it’s late. I wouldn’t want to bother your mother—”  
  
“She’s not home. It’s okay,” she said, giving him a reassuring look. And then adding, “I got you in trouble. It’s my fault you’re hurt, so you’re coming inside whether you want to or not.”

Although she was demanding him to come inside, he couldn’t help but feel that he might possibly make her feel uncomfortable by having her invite him inside, especially when her mother wasn’t home and especially after what happened today. Even though he knew he would never hurt Lydia, he was also aware that she was probably still shaken up. But also realizing that he didn’t really have a choice against her word, he nodded and followed her into the house. He watched as she kicked off her heels and walked further inside, while he stood at the threshold awkwardly, because it was his _first time_ at her house. 

Noticing that he wasn’t following behind her, Lydia turned and frowned when she saw him still standing there. “Are you gonna come in or what? It’s cold outside.”

Given permission, Jordan stepped inside, promptly removing his shoes as he wandered in. The house was even bigger on the inside than it was on the outside, and as he glanced around, Lydia returned with a first aid kit in her hands. “Sit down,” she instructed, as they took a seat on one of the fancy sofas in the main room. “Here, let me see your knuckles…”  
  
“It really is fine, Lydia. It’s just a scratch,” he tried telling her, but she wouldn’t have it as she gently took his hand and started cleaning it up.

Jordan watched her intently as she took her time tending to his wounds and applying medicine so that it wouldn’t get infected. Her touch was calming and soothe, and it almost felt like he was at home, just sitting there with her. “I don’t get why boys just want you for your body,” he suddenly found himself saying before he could stop himself, “You’re incredible, Lydia Martin. You’re much more than just looks.”

She looked at him, looking absolutely awestruck at his words as she just blinked at him, as if trying to find the right words to say. And never in his life did he think he could leave _the_ Lydia Martin speechless. 

“Thank you...You’re more than just looks too, you know…,” she finally said, biting her lip shyly as she lowered her gaze and focused on bandaging his fingers. 

It made a smile curve on his lips, but it quickly faded when he realized that she was silently crying. Slowly and carefully, Jordan tilted her chin up so that she was looking at him again. “Hey, don’t cry. Crying doesn’t suit the brilliant Lydia Martin,” he said, giving her a genuine smile.  
  
Lydia sniffled before wiping away her tears and rubbing her eyes harshly. “Sorry…,” she murmured, as she started to tend to the cut on his upper lip.  
  
“Please don’t apologize,” he told her, because she was the last person that should be apologizing today. “If anyone should be apologizing, it should be Hadden and that other guy.”

She didn’t say anything in reply, just stared at him with those big hazel eyes of hers, and Jordan stared back, while barely being able to imagine all the emotions that were probably flooding through her at that moment. Almost hesitatingly, he reached forward and curled a loose strand of hair behind her ear, his touch so gentle that her eyes fluttered close for a few seconds before she glanced back up at him underneath heavy lids. And before he could realize what he was doing, he was leaning closer to her, closer and closer until his lips were mere inches from hers and he could feel her warm breath against his mouth. For a moment, he wasn’t thinking rationally. He wasn’t thinking about the fact that she was only eighteen and he was six years her senior, or the fact that this, _this_ was wrong. All he could think about was how much he wanted to just press his lips against hers in the most gentle way possible, while pulling her closer to him, as close as he can get her.

But then reality dawned on him. And finally realizing what he was doing, he jerked away, lowering his gaze so that he wouldn’t have to see what her expression was. “I...should go...now,” he said slowly, as he stood up. It was only then that he stole a glance towards her, watching her nod as she put away the first aid kit supplies. He swallowed hard, still trying to understand what he was thinking when he had leaned in so close to her like that. And not only that, but he couldn’t even set his mind on what Lydia was possibly thinking of _him._ Quickly _,_ Jordan turned towards the door, ready to flee, but before he could, she was calling him again.

“Parrish?”

He stopped in his tracks and turned to look at her. “...Yeah?”  
  
“Thank you…,” she said, a smile finally reaching her lips. “For everything.”

Seeing her smile made Jordan smile too. “We’re partners, remember? We have to look out for each other,” he told her as he watched the smile on her face grow a little wider, and before he could stop himself, he was walking over to her again and brushing his lips across the top of her head, letting his lips linger far longer than needed. When he pulled away, she was looking up at him with a slightly dazed expression, but he didn’t see any look of regret from his sudden gesture. “If you need anything, I’m a call away. And...lock your doors, okay?” He didn’t know why he was saying it, why he had kissed her forehead like that, but he liked to think that it was because he was worried. Nothing more.

Even though deep down, he knew it involved more.

Lydia pressed her lips together, as if she was trying to hide a smile from him, as she nodded. “...Text me when you get home. So I know you made it safely,” she told him seriously, reminding him of when he had told her the exact same thing last night. 

Her genuine concern for him brought another smile to his lips. “I will,” he told her, giving her one last glance before finally heading out the door.

And as he drove back home, all he could think about was a certain strawberry blonde and how he would do anything to see her smile.  
  
In a way, it frightened him, the things he would do for her happiness.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _**LYDIA** _

* * *

 

Lydia felt Jordan’s strong arms wrap around her waist, pulling her close, and her heart was beating so fast that she couldn’t even think straight. Her eyes found his green ones, and their gazes locked for a few seconds. But to Lydia, it felt like it was a lifetime. Jordan then leaned closer to her, and she knew what was going to happen next.

“Please don’t hate me for this,” Jordan murmured before pressing his lips against hers. 

His lips felt warm and soft against hers, as she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer and enjoying the taste of his mouth on hers. Kissing Jordan, it felt like there was no one around. Like everything that surrounded them disappeared and nothing else mattered except for the way their lips locked together like missing puzzle pieces. Lydia felt butterflies in her stomach, and she couldn’t explain this feeling she was having. She had never felt anything like this before. 

This was _different_.

Jordan gently laid her down on her bed, making sure he was careful not to crush her or manhandle her, even though she was so used to the latter. He then slowly started unbuttoning her shirt, his fingers lingering, and Lydia was enjoying the way his touch left a burning warmth buzzing on her skin , until...

She heard an annoying alarm sound next to her bed.

Lydia groaned, hitting the snooze button on the alarm set on her phone before opening her eyes. She glanced out the window and saw that the sun wasn’t shining. It was one of those rare days in Beacon Hills. She sat up on her bed, rubbing her eyes to rouse herself from sleep, and it’s only then that she realized it was just all a _dream_. Jordan kissing her, touching her...All of it had been a dream. But even if it was a dream, Lydia couldn’t stop feeling the warm feeling inside her that she felt when he had kissed her in her dream. Ever since what happened a few nights ago, when Jordan had held her face in his warm hands after she finished cleaning up his wounds, she swore that he was going to kiss her. She remembered the way her heart was pounding through her chest so fast when his lips were mere inches away from hers, that she was afraid he would hear it. And now, paired with the dream she just had, it felt like someone had just opened a jar full of butterflies inside her stomach and there was nothing she could do now to make that fluttery feeling go away.

Sighing, her gaze wandered over to the time where she realized she was almost late to go to the station. Lydia immediately got up from her bedroom and quickly freshened up, making sure she still looked fresh and clean before putting on her make up before putting on one of her floral skirts and slipping on a button up shirt where she tied the bottom of the shirt, exposing the skin of her stomach a little. After checking in the mirror one more time to make sure she looked good even though she technically just rolled out of bed, she touched up on her lipstick, tousled her hair a little with her fingers, and then finally satisfied, strut out the door.  

Luckily, the station was just about ten minutes away from her house, but she quickly drove there anyways, and by the time she entered the place, it was busy and packed with deputies working.

She glanced around the station to find a certain deputy, but she couldn’t find him. She took a peek at the window of his office, but his desk was empty. Where could he be? She started to feel herself get a little worried, because what if he was avoiding her after what happened? _No, no_ , she told herself. He wouldn’t do that, or would he? Suddenly, she heard a door open behind her making her quickly turn around, and to her relief, she saw Jordan walking out of the Sheriff’s office with a frown on his face and a file in his hand.

“Hey, there you are,” Lydia said, walking closer to him while trying to ignore the fact that her heart rate had just picked up. “What’s that?”

Jordan looked down at the file and sighed. “Another kid went missing last night.”

The words instantly made Lydia feel sick to her stomach. Another kid. Meaning, she had failed to save yet another person. She bit her lower lip helplessly, wishing she could just figure out how to use her powers already so that she can actually help someone before they…die.

“Where’s… Where’s the Sheriff?” Lydia asked, her voice coming out tiny.

“He just left to go to the girl’s house to talk to her parents. I went to go get this from his desk to know more information,” Jordan explained. “I’m about to head over there and investigate. It seems like kidnapping children is the trend right now.” He shook his head and sighed, as he flipped through the files.

“Alright. I’ll come,” Lydia said instantaneously.

She saw the expression that crossed his face at her response, saw the way his mouth opened ready to protest to what she just said, but she also saw how quickly he closed his mouth and instead, just nodded his head. She already knew Jordan didn’t want her to come along because it was too “dangerous” for her, but she knew that _he knew_ how stubborn she could be.

“Alright. Let’s go,” Jordan said and Lydia followed him right away out the station.

The ride towards the house was silent. It wasn’t an awkward silence, in fact it was a comfortable silence despite that somewhat intimate moment that happened between them a few nights before. Yet, although the comfortable atmosphere, Lydia wouldn’t even dare steal a glance towards Jordan because her mind kept clouding her thought process with the dream from last night. It felt so real to her, but she kept trying to tell herself it was all a dream. That a man like Jordan could _never_ fall for an eighteen year old girl like her. Especially, a broken teenage girl who had been through so much like her. _Jordan doesn’t need more trouble in his life,_ she thought sadly, lowering her gaze.

And by the time she glances back up, Jordan had already parked his cruiser to side of the street. Lydia stepped out of the car, but then stopped for a moment when she noticed that the house in front of her looked familiar.

“Lydia? Are you alright?” Jordan asked, walking over to her.

Lydia glanced at him with furrowed eyebrows and the back at the house. “Isn’t… Isn’t this the same place we met up at when you were sleep-walking?”

She watched Jordan’s eyebrows furrow momentarily as well before his gaze turned back to the house, studying it until his eyes widened and realization crossed his expression.   
  
It was the same house.

“Let’s—just go inside,” Jordan quickly said, not saying anymore on the coincidence of it being the same house, as he led Lydia in.

Inside, she saw the Sheriff in the living room with who she assumed was the girl’s mother who was crying. There were two other deputies also there, one checking around the house to find evidence and the other interrogating the father who had a distressed look on his face like any parent would. Jordan walked towards the Sheriff to discuss something, leaving Lydia standing in the large foyer to glance around. Her attention swayed towards an assortment of pictures on one of the tables. As she stepped closer, she easily recognized the mother and father in a few of the photos, smiling happily and it broke her heart a little. But as her eyes scanned through each photo, there was one that especially caught her eye, making her freeze. She brought up a shaky hand towards the picture frame, picking it up and studying it even closer. It was a full family photo, with mother and father and grandparents and cousins and what not, but what caught Lydia’s eyes was the little girl in the very middle of the photo. She had dark hair and almond eyes and it was the same exact girl Lydia had met at Allison’s grave. Ally.

And that was when she realized that the little girl that went missing was no other than Ally.

Suddenly, the photo fell from Lydia’s hand, dropping to the floor, and she couldn’t even get herself to pick it up again because she felt so guilty. Guilty that she once again couldn’t save another life. She couldn’t save the innocent life of a little girl she had confided her feelings to. She couldn’t save another child from going missing.

And the guilt overwhelmed her.

Lydia quickly ran out of the house with tears streaming down her face because she couldn’t take it anymore. She couldn’t take anymore children missing, she couldn’t take finding them but only to be brutally murdered. When she reached the edge of the sidewalk, she stopped in her tracks and tried to calm herself down. She breathed heavily and was wiping away her tears when she felt something heavy on her shoulders. She glanced up and saw Jordan wrapping his jacket around her.

“Hey, it’s okay,” he murmured.

"I... I don't want her to die too, Parrish." Lydia choked through her tears. "I need to save her. No matter what. I need to save one of them." She couldn’t help but think back to when she said the same exact words about the little boy, Charlie.

And now he was dead.

Lydia felt Jordan rub her back softly, trying to comfort her. She usually didn't like crying in front of anyone but somehow, she felt comfortable enough to cry in front of Jordan who was now starting to whisper soothing words to her.

"Shh...I know, Lydia. We’ll find her though, okay? I know we will," he said and then suggested,"Why don't you go home and take a day off? You’ve been working really hard."

Lydia nodded in agreement. She has been working too hard. Working hard to save everyone from dying, even though she kept failing. And there were also the feelings she had for Jordan and those didn’t help relax her too much either since she couldn't even figure out as to why she felt like this.

"Let me take you home," Jordan said, opening the passenger door for her.

Lydia nodded again and slid inside, pulling his jacket that was wrapped around her, closer to her body. 

The ride back to her house was quiet again, but Lydia didn’t mind since she was looking out the window through the whole ride while trying to think about Ally, and how she could possibly save her. But the problem was, she didn’t even have any clue pointing towards whom this kidnapper/killer could be. And, as if she couldn’t get anymore confused by that, thoughts of Jordan filled her mind again. Her dream last night still lingered in her mind, and Lydia found herself softly touching her lips with her fingers, silently wishing it was real. She felt warm inside again and her cheeks started to heat up as she thought about it. Why was this so hard for her? How come she just couldn’t admit it to herself? Maybe it was because she knew that if she did, she wouldn’t be able to stop herself. If she admitted these feelings, whatever they were, to herself, she knew she wouldn’t be able to watch Jordan from the distance while he loved someone else. The thought of him loving another girl sent a sick feeling inside her.

Because, if there was one thing she was sure of, she knew Jordan would never fall for her. 

“Lydia?”

Her  thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Jordan’s soothing voice. Lydia glanced towards him and realized that they were already parked in front of her driveway. 

“Are you alright?” Jordan asked, focusing on her. “Is there something you want to talk about?”

The question made her laugh in the inside. Talk about what? Talk about how _she likes him?_ How she couldn’t stop herself from thinking about him from time to time?

“No, I’m fine.” Lydia gave him a small smile. “Thanks for the ride.”

Lydia unbuckled her seat belt and opened the door when she felt Jordan’s hand on her wrist, stopping her.

“If you need anything, just call me okay?” Jordan smiled slightly. 

Lydia nodded and once Jordan lets go of her wrist, she could still feel his touch linger for a second. She made her way inside the house and watched Jordan through the window as he drove away. Lydia sighed and flopped herself down on the couch. What the hell was happening to her? Most especially, what was happening to these feelings? This wasn’t just a mere crush anymore. Not that Lydia Martin _had_ crushes. Boys were the ones to have crushes on her, but then what was this warm butterfly feeling she couldn’t stop feeling? 

Lydia sighed and took her phone out, scrolling through her contacts before she stopped at Allison’s name. At moments like these, all she wanted was to talk to her best friend about everything. All she wanted to do was ask her to come over for the night, and then talk about anything just like old times, but she couldn’t do that anymore. 

Despite everything that happened, Lydia still found herself making new friends. That was why she was surprised when she scrolled down through her contacts and clicked on Kira’s name. She knew Kira was busy enjoying her vacation, but she really needed a girl friend to talk to right now, and Kira was the closest one to her. 

“Lydia!” Kira’s cheerful voice rang through the phone. “How are you? How’s your summer going?” 

Lydia laid on the couch and sighed. “It’s going well, I guess. Sheriff asked me to help him out at the station. How’s New York?” 

“I heard! Stiles told Scott who told me. New York is going totally awesome for me. How are things at the station? Is it fun?” Kira asked.

Lydia chuckled at her comment. Fun? More like stressful than ever.

“Not really. I mean it’s solving a lot of cases, so it is kind of stressful. Listen, I need to talk to you—” 

Kira laughed, cutting her off. “That’s alright. I mean its police stuff. I mean what do I know about solving crimes? But I think it’s still looks hard. Are they nice to you? Do you just help the Sheriff?”

“Actually,” Lydia cleared her throat, “I’m helping Deputy Parrish.” 

There was a silence between the line for second and then Lydia heard Kira said, “ _Oh._ ”

“Yeah, and I… um… I think I like… him.” Lydia felt her cheeks heat up again as she said those words. It was the first time she heard herself say them out loud like that, nevertheless say them to _someone else._ She never really truly admitted it to herself until now. Usually, she would just constantly find herself thinking about him, or more recently, dreaming about him.

“You like the deputy?!” Kira exclaimed. “Ohmygod Lydia! Did you tell him? What did he say?!”

“I didn’t tell him, Kira….I can’t. He wouldn’t like a girl like me.” She sighed.

“Why not? You’re smart and beautiful! I’m sure he has the same feelings! Malia told me she didn’t understand why his heart would start beating so fast when you guys were at the station together. She thought he was just nervous and all, but there could be a possibility that it’s because of you.”

Lydia could hear the excitement in her voice and she never thought someone would support her like this. Especially, since Jordan was older than her. She had been so sure that her friends would judge her for it.

“I don’t kn—” Lydia suddenly paused for a moment when she heard a noise coming from the kitchen.

“Lydia? Are you there?” Kira asked.

“Huh? Yeah, I’m still here.” She ignored the noise for a moment, thinking it was just her imagination before going back to the conversation. “Look Kira, I don’t know. I don’t even know what to do.”

“I think you should just wait and look at signs if he likes you too or not and if you’re sure, I think you should tell him how you feel.”

Lydia sighed and paced back and forth in her living room. How does she even find signs? How will she even know if Jordan does like her too? This was so frustrating for her. She never had a problem like this before with her old boyfriends. They just straight up told her what they wanted or how they felt about her and then they would have sex in some empty classroom or in her room the same night. That’s how easy it was but now, she didn’t even know how to find signs to see if Jordan really liked her. God, what was wrong with her? Why was it so hard when it came to him?

“I guess you’re right. I just don’t—” Lydia paused again when she heard another noise coming from the kitchen, except this time much louder.

“Lydia? What’s wrong?” Kira asked with panic in her voice.

“Kira, I’ll call you back later.” Lydia hung up the phone before Kira could protest. She slowly walked to the kitchen silently. She could feel herself start to get scared. Was someone in her house? Was it a thief? When Lydia entered the kitchen and didn’t see anyone, she quickly grabbed one of the pans on the stove and held it up high as she glanced around the kitchen. 

“Who’s there?” She called out.

She glanced once more around the kitchen, gripping the handle of the pan tightly. As soon as she realized that no one was there, she set the pan down back on the stove and sighed. She was probably just being paranoid. Grabbing an apple from the counter, she was just about to make her way upstairs when her eye caught something outside the window. A silhouette.

Someone was in her backyard. 

Lydia froze in her tracks, facing the other way away from the window. She couldn’t get herself to look back, to confirm or falsify her suspicions because her heart was beating so rapidly out of her chest now that she was afraid she was going to faint if her suspicions turned out to be right. But she had to look, otherwise she was sure she wasn’t going to be able to sleep for the rest of the night. And even if someone was in her backyard, she could just immediately call the police. Her doors were locked. There was no way anyone could come inside.

Slowly and hesitatingly, she turned and glanced out the window again. No one was there. A sigh of relief passed through her as her heart rate returned to normal. “Must be imagination,” she mumbled to herself as she turned to make her way back up to her room, but just as she was about to leave the kitchen, she heard barking coming from outside.

It was Prada, probably begging to come back inside. Sighing again, Lydia walked over to the patio door, opening it and waiting for the ball of fluff with feet to come inside. “C’mon Prada, I don’t have all day,” she said.

But the dog wouldn’t stop barking. When her eyes found the tiny white dog in the darkness of the night, she saw that Prada was barking at the gate that lead back into the driveway. Lydia couldn’t see anything beyond the gate, since everything was shrouded in darkness, so even if someone was standing there, she wouldn’t know.

And that made her heart sink a little.

“Prada, come back inside. There’s no one there,” she said, the last part mostly reassurance for herself as she stepped outside into the cool night. The dog wouldn’t stop barking as she cautiously walked over to it, scooping it up into her arms and turning to hurry back inside but then she heard a loud crunch. The sound of feet stepping over a tree branch.

Lydia turned back towards the gate, and she could feel the color start to drain from her face. “W-Who’s there?” She yelled, trying to sound as steely as possible, but failing as she fumbled over her words.

No one answered.

Lydia took a deep breath as she walked over to the gate, taking slow and tiny steps until her slightly trembling hand gripped the cool railing and pushed it open, making a screeching sound echo around her. When she peered outside, there was once again, no one there. It made her eyes narrow mostly in frustration, because if she didn’t think she was already crazy enough with hearing voices in her head, she was now _seeing_ things. “Ugh,” she groaned, as she closed the gate and locked it before finally turning on her heel and heading back inside.

She placed Prada down on the floor, watching her scamper off to a corner before walking back into the hallway to make sure the front door was locked. Sure, maybe she was seeing things, but ever since what happened between her and Peter, Lydia’s always made sure all her doors were locked before she went to sleep, even if that means she had to double check, or sometimes even triple check, just to make her finally feel relieved. 

However, as soon as she stepped into the main hallway, she found herself stop in her tracks so fast that if she wasn’t barefoot, she would have sure fell over. Her eyes widened as she stared at the front door, which was wide open. A cold breeze travelled in from outside, making her shiver as she felt her entire body rouse in goosebumps, but it wasn’t from the cold. Without another hesitation, Lydia rushed forward and closed the door, quickly locking it as she ran towards the living room to grab her phone and quickly dialed Jordan’s number. 

“Please… please pick up,” Lydia murmured, shaking all over as it rang, her eyes darting around her surroundings. 

After the third ring, he answered. “Lydia?”

“P-Parrish, I… I-I think someone’s in my house,” Lydia managed to say, her voice shaking with nerves. “Can you please come?”

“I’ll be right there. Just hang on, okay?” Lydia heard Jordan fumbling with something on the other end of the line, and she could tell he was quickly running towards his car.

“Hurry please,” Lydia begged, her hands shakily holding the phone against her ear. 

“I will. Just stay there, okay? I’m coming,” Jordan said, before hanging up the phone.

While Lydia waited, she looked around her house, holding the pan that she was holding before. She went upstairs to check every room, and all she has found nothing. She went downstairs again to check the kitchen and the living room. Was she just seeing things? No, that wasn’t possible. Her front door was _wide open_ when she had clearly closed it and locked it when she came home. Whatever it was, whoever it was, it was really giving her a bad feeling. Why would someone scare her like that? The deadpool was over. No one had been threatened to be killed ever since, except for the children that had been missing lately.

Lydia was setting the pan down back on the stove when she heard a knock on the door. At first, she felt frightened all over again, but then she heard Jordan’s voice on the other side of the door and she immediately opened it, seeing him standing there with a panicked expression on his face.

“Are you alright? Did someone tried to hurt you?” Jordan asked, coming in. 

“I’m okay...Thanks for coming,” Lydia said, playing with her fingers nervously, even though she already felt much more safer with Jordan standing next to her. 

She watched as he took his gun out from his holster and carefully checked the house. Even though Lydia didn’t see anyone inside, she still let Jordan do his job and re-check everything just in case. This was one of the reasons why she hated it when her mother had business trips and had to leave her home alone for long periods of time. Ever since the incident with Peter, she hated being home alone. She was scared that some creature with glowing eyes might appear by her window and attack her. 

“No one’s here,” Jordan assured her when he came back downstairs, setting his gun back into his holster. “Whoever it was, they’re long gone. Or someone was trying to scare you. Maybe the kids neighbors? Trying to prank people at night...” 

Lydia nodded and didn’t say a word. She was still a bit shaken up from what happened. 

“Th...thank you.” She murmured. 

Lydia thought that Jordan must have seen her still trembling because next thing she knew, he was lifting her chin up to look at him.

“Hey… it’s okay. There’s no one here. I’m here. Do you want me to stay?” Jordan whispered. 

For a moment, she just found herself staring into his eyes, finding a sort of peace in them before she spoke again. “I.. I don’t want to stay here. It’s freaking me out.” Lydia saw Jordan nodding, agreeing with her, before going quiet. She could see that he was trying to think how he can handle the situation. 

“You can come to my place so that if whoever it was scaring you comes back, you’re not going be here all alone. Is that fine with you?” He asked firmly.

Lydia smiled slightly and nodded. She was impressed how Jordan could still be a gentlemen in these kind of situations. She was surprised that a guy would ask her if it was fine with her to come stay at their place. They would usually just invite her and just expect her to tag along, that was it. She went to get her purse before following Jordan out the door and into his cruiser, where he pulled out of her driveway and started driving in the direction of his apartment. 

And by the time they arrived to his place, Lydia was starting to feel the tiredness hit her. She didn’t say anything though, just followed Jordan inside his apartment. His apartment was the same as the last time she saw it. Tidy, simple, and clean. 

“You look tired,” Jordan finally said, furrowing his eyebrows in concern. 

“Not really—” Lydia was cut off when a loud yawn escaped her lips. “Okay, maybe a little.”

Jordan chuckled and grabbed her hand softly, surprising her by how gentle his touch was, before leading her inside his room. His room was also simple, with just a few necessary things. She glanced around for a moment, taking in the new surroundings. There was a desk, a dresser, and taking up most of his room, a giant bed. On his bedside table, there was a picture of him as a baby with who Lydia assumed was his mother. Lydia didn’t bother asking him about his father because she knew it wasn’t any of her business. 

“You can sleep here if you want,” Jordan told her with a comforting smile. “Don’t worry, I’ll be on the couch in the living room.”

Lydia turned to face him, and nodded, returning the smile. And after telling her where the bathroom was and reassuring her that if she needed anything, she could simply ask him, Jordan turned and closed the door behind him, leaving her alone in his room. Lydia took her time studying the room for a moment before finally setting herself on his bed. The sheets smelled exactly like him, a nice minty scent with a tiny mix of his cologne. It made her suddenly feel more safe and warm, and before she knew it, her eyes were fluttering to a close. But before she could drift off to sleep, she heard the door open again quietly, and she kept her eyes shut, pretending to be asleep. She knew it was Jordan, who probably just needed to get something, since after all, it was his room, but then she suddenly felt a blanket gently cover her and soothing fingers stroke her hair caressingly.

“Goodnight, Lydia. Sweet dreams,” She heard Jordan whisper, bringing a tiny smile on her lips before she finally fell asleep peacefully for the first time in many nights.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
>  sorry for such a long wait guys! but it's finally here! :D
> 
>  
> 
>   
> 

_**JORDAN** _

* * *

 

Jordan stepped out of the shower and wiped the steam off the mirror, wrapping a towel tightly around his waist as he walked out into the hall. It was still early in the morning and he didn’t expect Lydia to be awake anytime soon, but when he turned the corner of the hallway to go change in the other room so he didn’t have to disturb her, he bumped into no other than the strawberry blonde herself.

And he almost nearly dropped his towel in the process.

“L-Lydia, I didn’t know you were awake,” he stammered, tightening his grip on the towel as he saw her blatantly stare at him, a blush rising in her cheeks and he was sure that his face was similar. He swallowed hard. “I was just going to go change in the other room—”

“Why are you walking around naked in the first place?!” Lydia huffed, turning away and crossing her arms, but Jordan noticed the way she stole glances towards him.

He hid the smile that crossed his lips and stepped around her, stifling down the chuckle as he leaned in close to her ear to whisper, “Well, it is my apartment, so…” 

She smacked his shoulder playfully, and he laughed, only mumbling an apology when she shot him a look. “The bathroom’s all yours so you can take a shower if you want. Do you need clean clothes? I think I might have something for you to wear, you know if you’re okay with going out with sweats and an oversized t-shirt.” He flashed her a smile and she scoffed. 

“It might be hard for you to believe deputy, but I’ve worn sweats before,” she started, rolling her eyes at him and that only made his smile grew wider. 

“Not hard for me to believe at all, ma’am,” he said, earning another eye roll for her as he fished out a pair of sweats and a t-shirt that didn’t show how much of a lame Star Wars nerd he was, although she did catch a peek at his Darth Vader boxers and giggled, making his face turn a bright pink after she sauntered away to his bathroom.

After changing into his work pants but staying shirtless, not wanting to soil his work shirt while making breakfast, he headed towards the kitchen to quickly make some eggs and bacon, figuring Lydia was probably hungry and food would be good for her especially after what happened last night. His mind goes back to the prior night’s events and even though he didn’t doubt that she had seen someone prying around her house, he couldn’t wrap his mind around why someone would do that. He had assured by saying that it was probably just neighborhood kids, but even he knew that it was most likely not. He couldn’t help but think whether someone was after Lydia again. Although the deadpool was over, maybe someone knew that if she had such a high bounty over her head, she was something special and could probably come to some sort of use.

It made his jaw clench just thinking about it. Lydia was just an eighteen year old girl who went to high school and had a far more brilliant mind than anyone he ever met, but he would be lying to himself if he didn’t admit that she was much more than that. She had been through so much, but instead of letting it weaken her, let it crumble her to the point of no return, she let it harden herself and keep her strong. Sure, he’s seen her frustrated over her powers, especially after the deaths of the two kids and now another kid was missing, but even then she wasn’t going to give up on them, or even on him in this case, with the amount of work she was doing to help him figure out what he was.

And that, that was what made her amazing to him.

Jordan heard feet pad towards the kitchen a few minutes later and he quickly shoved those thoughts aside, humming to himself as he prepared their breakfast. 

“Nice apron, deputy.”

He almost forgot that he was wearing the wretched pink thing until he turned to look at her, seeing the smug and amused look on her face as she bit her lip and checked him out. He blushed fiercely. “I swear it was a harmless gift I got on my birthday,” he defended, making her chuckle.

“Kiss the cook, huh?” She said, letting her fingers slide over the bright white lettering of the equally bright pink apron that was clad across his bare chest. Jordan’s breath hitched from her touch as she stepped into his space, and seeing the grin curve on her lips, he knew she was enjoying seeing him squirm. Thankfully, she backed off and then grabbed a piece of bacon, taking a bite into it and munching before getting close to him again. “Hmm, maybe I’ll just have to do that,” she whispered.

Jordan felt his heart beat slightly rise at her suggestion, and he was lucky she wasn’t a werewolf so she could hear it. Although deep inside him he knew he wouldn’t mind her lips pressing against his, he knew better than to succumb to those urges, especially after what happened that night where he nearly almost did when he held her face so close to his, wiping her tears away. He didn’t regret doing that, but part of him did regret that he didn’t kiss her, and that just made him feel even more guilty for even thinking that way.

God, she didn’t even need to try and she had him wrapped around her finger so well.

“Trust me, I’m not that good of a cook,” he replied, giving her a friendly smile and moving around her to try and play off her suggestion.

He expected her to retaliate but she casually said that she was just kidding anyways and walked over to take a seat at the table. He felt awkward taking off the apron in front of her and leaving himself shirtless like that, but he felt even more awkward sitting down at the table _with_ the apron. So he went with the former, and sat down, feeling her gaze on his bare chest as she ate.

“Hmm,” she hummed quietly, but playfully, “looks like someone’s been working out.”

Her comment is followed by a soft giggle and Jordan tries his best not to get flustered. “I go to the gym every now and then, but I’ve been slacking because of the late shifts,” he tried to defend modestly while trying to make small conversation.

“Really? Kind of hard to believe that if you ask me,” She said with full flirtatious tone as she leaned closer, elbows on the table and Jordan swore he felt her bare foot brush up his leg. 

And after breakfast, he had so much pent up sexual frustration inside him that it was surprising he hadn’t just burst up into flames from it.

Whether that was exactly Lydia’s plan from the very start or not, Jordan didn’t know but from the way she was smiling as she entered the passenger seat of his car, it was definitely a suggestion. “Are you comfortable going back home?” He asked her, finally touching on the subject. “If you’re not, I can always drop you off at a friends house.”  
  
She furrowed her eyebrows at him. “You’re not taking me to the station with you?”

Jordan shook his head as he glanced towards her. “I just think that you really need a break from all the chaos that’s been happening. You’ve helped us a lot, Lydia, but you really need a day off.”

She scoffed. “I could say the same to you then, deputy.”

He shrugged. “Maybe you’re right. But I’m used to it. Don’t worry about me.” It was the truth, he was far too used to the long and late shifts at the station while barely getting any sleep. He had been doing it long before he even transferred over to Beacon Hills, the only difference was he had to add killer supernatural creatures to the list now.

“Someone’s going to have to worry about you…,” he heard her murmur, and it brought a smile to his lips.

Jordan parked in front of her driveway, noticing how her mom’s car still wasn’t there. “Are you sure you’re okay being alone? I mean, I can bring you to the station but if you’re thinking I’m going to even let you touch any case files, then you’re wrong,” he said, grinning sheepishly at her.

Lydia returned the smile and opened the car door. “I’ll be fine. I’m sure no one’s going to try and attack me when it’s the middle of the day,” she said, smiling growing wider, “and even if they do, my mother has a vast arrangement of knifes in the kitchen.”

He chuckled, but still couldn’t help but feel concern for her, remembering how shaken up she had been at night. “You sure?” He asked again, for good measure.

She rolled her eyes this time, but the smile stayed on her her lips. “Your concern is flattering, Parrish, but if I need anything, I’ll let you know.”  
  
“You’ll call me?”  
  
“ _Yes_ ,” she groaned impatiently, “I’ll even put you on speed dial if that satisfies you.”

Jordan smirked as he put the car into reverse. “Just get some rest and relax, alright?”

“Bye, deputy.” She threw him one last smile before turning on her heel and stride towards her house.

Jordan’s eyes lingered on her, watching the way her ass sashayed in her floral skirt while her hips followed suit, and he swallowed hard as he tore his gaze away and finally pulled out of the driveway and was back on the street. He knew what the reasonable thing for him to do was: to get Lydia out of his head. It didn’t matter if she was of legal age already, he was six years older than her and she was still in high school. Their relationship wouldn’t sit right with anyone.

But at the same time, he was far beyond thinking rationally now, because he’s realized that when you’re in love you start thinking less and less with your mind and more and more with your heart.

There was no more denying it. 

He was in in love with Lydia Martin. 

And he was going to try and deny it to the ends of the earth.

 

 

**

 

 

The thought didn’t leave his mind no matter how hard he tried to focus on the stack of paperwork on his desk in front of him. It kept finding its way back into his mind, just when he thought he got rid of the ridiculous thought for good. He sighed distressedly, leaning back in his chair and studying the stack of papers in front of him. He wasn’t going to get any work done like _this_ , but he had to if he wanted to keep his mind. Sighing once more, he turned back to his work, but then his phone buzzed next to him, making his attention drift again. When he checked it, it was a text message from Lydia. 

**LYDIA:**

_Thought I’d let you know that I’m still well and alive._  

He smiled. _Good to hear. What are you doing now?_ He sent it before thinking twice, and then slightly cringed. It was none of his business to ask what she was doing, and he couldn’t help but think she’d definitely think he was weird or creepy, and even more, he probably sent that text faster than he should have. 

God. Was he really thinking like _this?_  

Lydia replied back faster though, so maybe it wasn’t all that bad. _lying in bed like a bum in sweats and watching netflix. you?_

_Paperwork. And i didn’t know that Lydia Martin even knew how to be a bum. :)_

_Shut up and do your work._

His smile grew wider. _Yes ma’am.  
_

“Parrish!”

The Sheriff’s voice nearly made Jordan fall off his seat as his smile vanished off his face and he quickly put down his phone, standing up and facing his boss. “Y-Yes, sir?”

“Get off your phone and give me the file for the Lawrence case,” the Sheriff said gruffly.

“Yes, sir. I’ll get it right away sir,” he said, stumbling through the files and almost tripping over his own two feet. 

The Sheriff gave him a weird look as he watched him. “Parrish, are you alright? You’ve been acting a little strange lately.”

After desperately searching for the file, Jordan handed it to the older man, while trying to figure out how to answer his question without blurting out that he was falling hard for a certain strawberry blonde. “I-I’m fine, sir. Just a little under the weather.”

The Sheriff looked him over and frowned. “Hm. That explains it. Why don’t you take the rest of the day off?”  
  
“No, sir, really, it’s fine—”

But the Sheriff wouldn’t take a no for an answer and before Jordan knew it, he was clocking out early and heading out of the station. He figured that even though he wasn’t really under the weather, he could really use a day off after all those late night shifts he had done in the past few weeks. He drove down the street heading back to his place, but then took a quick detour to the grocery store because he couldn’t remember the last time he had cooked himself a homemade meal, except for the breakfast that he made for Lydia in the morning.

Grabbing one of the carts, Jordan strolled into the produce section to get some vegetables that he could make for a possible stir-fry, since that was quick and easy to make, but right when he turned around the corner of the aisle, his cart collided with another cart, which belonged to no other than the strawberry blonde that had been occupying his mind nearly the whole day.

She smiled at him, throwing her curls over her shoulder. “Deputy, we really have to stop meeting like this.”

“Well, at least its better than a house with a freezer full of dead bodies,” he joked, flashing her a smile back.

“ _True_ ,” she hummed, as a young mother with an infant in the baby seat of the car passed by them, her gaze travelling over the sight of Jordan, making him slightly burn up as she turned down one of the aisles. Lydia seemed amused by this. “So, what are you doing here besides being eye candy for all the young moms?”

He chuckled. “Someone has to do the grocery shopping around here, and since I live alone, it might as well be me. And what about you? Thought you were at home binge watching on Netflix?”

She snorted. “I was but then I had to get a few things for my mom, and after I’m going dress shopping.” Her eyes sparkled with a glint as she pressed her red lips together and tilted her head to the side as she gazed at him. “You should come along. I could use the company.”

Jordan didn’t know whether she was joking or not. “Ah, well, I appreciate the offer, but I shouldn’t...I’d probably just bother you.”

Lydia smirked. “Nonsense, you’ll help me choose out dresses and carry my bags, of course,” she said with a sly wink as she walked down the aisle to the checkout lane, with full expectations that he would follow her.

And like a lost puppy, he did.

 

 

**

 

 

Lydia decided that it would be better if they just take his car, so Jordan followed her back to her house to drop off her car before climbing into the passenger seat next to him. They drive out of town and Lydia drags him to the mall the next town over. At first, he felt slightly awkward as they made their way from one store to the other, but slowly and surely he got comfortable holding Lydia’s dresses over his arm as she tried to find matching shoes or jewelry, and sooner or later, he looked just like the other boyfriends trailing behind their girlfriends in the shop.

Except, he wasn’t Lydia’s boyfriend.

But he tried not to think about that as he carried her bags easily as they made their way to Macy’s next, where Lydia spent nearly an hour trying on different dresses in front of him. Not that Jordan minded of course, because with each and every dress, he thought she looked beautiful nevertheless, even if she hated the dress to pieces and reprimanded him for having “horrible taste.” It just made him smile.

“I think you should buy the purple dress,” he said.

“It’s not purple, _it’s lavender_ ,” she huffed behind the dressing room door, and he could only sigh and hang his head.

“It’s still a type of purple though, right? So, technically I’m still right—”

His words fizzled in his throat when she opened the door, revealing herself, or well her _back_. The dark red dress hit just a little bit above her knees, hugging her body perfectly, and his eyes gave her a quick once over before stopping at the sight of the exposed skin of her back from the open zipper.

“Parrish? Can you zip me up?” She asked. 

He sat there, unmoving, until she called him again.

“Parrish?” She glanced over her shoulder look back at him, catching him blatantly staring. “Are you just going to look or are you going to help too, deputy?”

Jordan immediately felt himself blush as he stumbled to his feet and walked over to her, stepping into her space. His fingers stumbled upon the zipper when he was trying to close it. His fingers lingered on the skin of her back for a moment before actually pulling away. He watched as Lydia looked at herself in the mirror and smiled brightly.

“I think I’ll get this one.” Lydia said, flipping her hair and turning around to see more of the dress. “What do you think, Parrish?”

At first, he was tongue tied again because to be honest, he admit to himself that she did look good in that dress. Not just good. _Stunning._

“I… I think it looks good.” Jordan shrugged and went back to the chair he was sitting on.

He saw Lydia rolling her eyes before going back inside the fitting room to change back into her clothes.

After a few more stores, Jordan found himself getting hungry and tired from carrying all the shopping bags. That was when he got an idea.

“Are you hungry?” He asked. “We could get some dinner before going home.”

Lydia hummed in response and nodded her head. “Actually, yeah. I’m hungry. Where should we eat?” 

Jordan smiled, and he definitely know one place where they could get good food. He has been there many times because he thought the food there was delicious and not many people really went there.

“C’mon.” Jordan smiled and led her back to his car to go the restaurant he was thinking of. “I know just the place.”  
  
He drove her to a small cafe nearly hidden around the corner of a street, a place he discovered while on patrol one afternoon. He reassured Lydia that they had great coffee and food and she agreed all a bit reluctantly, but as soon as they entered Lydia sunk into the warmth of the place as the sweet aroma of food and coffee wafted through the air, making her smile. Jordan smiled too and led her to a table, where they ordered some sandwiches with coffee, and it was only then when he noticed that everyone in the diner seemed to have their eyes not so subtly on him and Lydia.

He realized that it looked a lot like they were on a date, the town’s favorite deputy with a high school girl who seemed to have a reputation. But to be honest, Jordan didn’t care. He didn’t care what other people might think of him. However, when he looked over at Lydia, he knew she didn’t feel the same as him, because he could see how she suddenly felt awkward when she realized that people were staring at them.

“You’re really trying your best to tarnish that reputation by being with the town crazy, hm?” Jordan could hear the teasing tone in her voice, along with a slight edge of nervousness.

He chuckled softly before looking into Lydia’s eyes. “I don’t think you’re crazy. I never did.” And he meant every word of it. He never thought she was crazy, even when he met her at Walcott’s house trying to find the dead bodies, even when he couldn’t understand _why_ she kept finding the bodies, why she and her friends kept getting themselves into the most dangerous situations. He’s heard the other deputies call her that, mention how she’s a “nutjob” and he’s had to clench his fist and restrain himself from punching them in the face. They didn’t know her. Sure, he didn’t know her that well either, but he knew her enough to know that she wasn’t crazy. She was special.

He always knew there had been something special about her. And maybe, that was exactly why he fell so hard for her, so fast. 

As soon as he said those words, he saw the awkwardness leave her expression, her once tense shoulders relaxed as she smiled at him with that same smile that always left him breathless, yet wanting more. She didn’t say anything to him in reply, and she didn’t have to, because her smile said it all. _Thank you._

When their food finally arrived, they ate along with having small conversation, mostly about Lydia getting ready for senior year and applying for college, and he learned that she was applying to all of the Ivy Leagues and he couldn’t help but look at her with admiration and awe. Even after they finished eating, they kept on talking, not realizing where the time went until they were two of the only people left in the cafe as the afternoon turned into the early evening outside. He offered to take her back home and together, they walked out into the cool air and seeing her shiver slightly, Jordan slipped out of his jacket and draped it over her shoulders, earning a thankful smile from her as they got into the car. 

When they got to her house, he walked her to the front door and as they stopped underneath the bright glow of the porchlight, he couldn’t help but think how much it felt like a date, even though he kept telling himself it wasn’t. 

He was the first to break the silence. “I...had fun today. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?”  
  
His green eyes met her hazel ones, and she smiled. “Yeah. Tomorrow." 

Jordan half expected her to go inside now, but instead she stepped into his space and on her tip toes, placed a kiss on his cheek. Her lips lingered far longer than needed before she pulled away, bright smile on his face and he was so sure he was blushing madly now.

“Night, deputy,” she said, biting her lower lip before finally going inside her house and leaving him standing there on the porch like a complete idiot.

And when he walked down the driveway back to his car, he couldn’t help but touch the spot where her lips brushed against his cheek, the skin still burning under his touch and making him smile.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What is Parrish is finally answered and the big bad is revealed, but even then, it doesn't look like it's all over yet...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
>    
> 

_**LYDIA** _

* * *

 

It was another sunny day in Beacon Hills, and the feeling that Lydia was feeling when she first woke up was exactly the opposite of the weather outside. She got up from her bed and quickly saw Jordan’s deputy jacket that was hanging on her chair. She took the jacket and pulled it into her arms. She didn’t know why, but she felt safe just having it in her arms right now. She felt like Jordan was there, protecting her.

She didn’t understand the feeling. It was one of her familiar banshee feelings, a feeling when someone was going to die, and she didn’t like it. Whoever was going to die today or the next few days, she needed to save them before it happened. She quickly got up from bed and walked towards her bathroom to do her usual things. Freshen up, put on her skirt and and blouse before doing her makeup.

Afterwards, Lydia went downstairs and realized her mom had already gone to work. The thought didn’t linger long on her mind though, as she grabbed her purse and car keys before heading out the door. Lydia got inside her car with the intention to go to the station. It was just another day for her and Jordan to read the Bestiary and find out what he really was after all, but her banshee powers seemed to have something else in mind for her because that wasn’t the destination Lydia drove to when she parked in front of the woods. She made her way out the car absentmindedly and started walking deep into the preserve, not stopping until she heard the sounds of someone approaching her from behind.

“Well, well…” A familiar voice echoed.

Lydia turned to look at who was the person who said it, but no one was there. That was when Lydia finally realized how deep in the woods she was.

“Who… Who’s there?” She called out.

“Well, I didn’t think it would work, but I guess I did a good job.”

Lydia turned and saw the last person she thought she would see. _Kate Argent._ Allison’s aunt, but that was the last association Lydia had with Kate right now. She was the Kate who had tried killing all of them, who had tried turning Scott into a berserker in Mexico, who had deaged Derek for her own purposes. Lydia held her ground as the woman walked towards her. She tried to step back as Kate got closer, but there was nowhere she could go or even try to run because she knew Kate would catch her easily. It was her own banshee powers that led her here, and now she didn’t even know how to get out of the situation.

“Kate,” Lydia murmured, “what are you doing here?”

Lydia watched as Kate laughed in her face and shook her head. “You really are a horrible banshee,” she smirked.

And before Lydia could say anything back, she felt someone throw her to the ground harshly and the next few events became a blur to her as darkness started to overtake her, and she felt something huge lift her and it took a few moments for her to realize that it was one of Kate’s berserkers.

The last thing she remembered after that was Kate’s laughter echoing through her ears, and then she was out.

 

 

**

 

It was dark. She was sure of that, and she could smell the trees that were all around her. Lydia blinked a few times to get her vision clear. She didn’t know where she was, and her head was definitely pounding. When her sight finally returned, she saw a bonfire in front of her and when she tried to get up, she couldn’t move her hands because they were tied. She pulled on the rope, but it wouldn’t budge.

“Hello?!” She called out. “Someone help me please!”

Her heart was pounding. The last person she saw was Kate, Allison’s aunt who they thought was dead but now alive and was a were-jaguar. Lydia’s breath hitched as she heard footsteps, but she couldn’t see anyone. She was in the middle of the forest and she was alone. Well, at least that was what she thought.

“You’re awake.”

Lydia turned to her left and saw Kate, holding something she didn’t even recognize. It was definitely a cup, but she couldn’t see what was inside.

“What do you want from me, Kate?” Lydia asked nervously.

Kate had her tied up already, and she was starting to have a bad feeling in her stomach that this was not going to end well. The last time Kate kidnapped someone, she turned them into a Berserker. Now, Lydia couldn’t understand why Kate would want her. Sure, she was a banshee, but what would Kate want from her?

Kate held up the cup in front of the fire and started talking in a different language that Lydia couldn’t even understand. Lydia struggled around the ropes she was tied in. “What do you want?!” she demanded.

Kate stopped whatever she was saying and glanced at Lydia with a devious smile on her face.

“You’ll thank me later for this, Lydia.” Kate smiled and continued what she was saying in front of the fire.

Lydia struggled from the rope as Kate finished her little speech in front of the fire. She saw how Kate opened the cup and smiled as she looked inside it. Lydia couldn’t help but wonder what was really inside there and more importantly, what did Kate want from her.

“They said a banshee and a barghest would help me do this little experiment. Now, that I have you, we just have to wait for the Barghest.”

Lydia furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. She had read about them before, but only rarely since there wasn’t that much information available about them anywhere. All she knew was that they were a type of hellhound. And a hellhound in Beacon Hills? It sounded impossible. “A barghest...? There’s no such thing in Beacon Hills!” Lydia argued.

“Oh, there is one, sweetheart. They told me there is one.” Kate brought the cup close to the fire, ready to turn it over and pour its contents into the flames, and that was when Lydia finally saw what was in it.

She watched as Kate poured the crimson blood into the flames, making them crackle loudly and blaze higher before going back to normal. “W-Who’s they?” Lydia managed to ask while she glared at Kate.

Kate didn’t answer her question as she picked up a rope that was on the ground instead. Lydia watched as the were-jaguar walked closer to her before wrapping the rope tightly around her neck, making Lydia squirm for air.

“N-No!” Lydia croaked, struggling.

It was happening again. It was just like when Jennifer almost killed her at school that night, the night she found out that she was a banshee. The night she found out she was an omen of death. Lydia held on to the rope, trying to pull it away, but Kate only tightened it even more.

“Scream, Lydia,” Kate demanded, looking straight into her eyes and Lydia could see the flames reflected in her vicious eyes.

The tears started to form in her eyes as she shook her head repeatedly, and Kate only tightened it more and kept on demanding for her to scream. The air in her lungs was starting to disappear as she kept struggling from Kate but then, that was when she finally knew she had to scream or else she would be screaming her own death. But just as she was about to let her piercing screams echo through the forest, she was interrupted.

“Step. away. from. her.”

Lydia gasped when she heard the voice she knew too well.

Kate turned around, and Lydia saw how Jordan was pointing his gun towards the woman, but Kate just laughed and shook her head. Lydia didn’t understand how Jordan  even found her. She didn’t call him, she didn’t even leave anything behind that would give him a trail on her location. But before she could even think more about it, her thoughts were interrupted once more when she felt the cold sharp metal of a blade at her neck, while her hair was pulled back harshly, putting strain on her neck and making the blade dig slightly into her flesh as Lydia winced.

“Take one more step and she dies!” Kate exclaimed.

Her eyes were tearing up all over again as she struggled against Kate, whimpering under Kate’s touch but Kate just pulled on her hair more.

“Stop! Let her go! Just hurt me! Not her!” Jordan yelled, clenching his jaw and Lydia saw the fear, the horror in his green eyes. “You can break my soul, take my life away, beat me, hurt me, kill me! But for the love of god, don’t touch her.”

Lydia felt her eyes well up more with tears just from Jordan’s words, because she never had anyone say anything like it to her before, but the momentarily swell of warmth in her chest was quickly replaced when she glanced up and saw how Kate paused for a moment before finally nodding her head in an agreement. The swell of warmth was replaced with fear, because that was what Lydia was afraid of. Kate would hurt Jordan instead of her and that was the last thing she wanted, Jordan getting hurt because of her. Everyone always got hurt because of her, because they protected her too much and because she wasn’t strong enough to fight for her own life.

“N..No!” Lydia screamed, choking on her own words as she watched Kate walk towards Jordan. “Don’t hurt him!”

But her screams and pleas were futile because she saw how Kate stared at Jordan, with daggers in her eyes as they both walked around the fire cautiously but ready to attack one another in a flash. Jordan was glaring at her as well and Lydia could see how his grip on the gun tightened, how his jaw clenched even more.

“Put your gun down and she doesn’t get hurt,” Kate demanded.

Lydia saw how Jordan hesitated at first, but he slowly bent down to place his gun on the forest floor and raising his hands up in a sort of surrender, his eyes never leaving Kate..

Kate smirked at his gesture. “Good. Now, turn around.”

Jordan did as he was told, turning around slowly. And as soon as his back was facing Kate, the woman grabbed a block of wood from nearby and Lydia’s eyes widened. She started shaking her head repeatedly, “N..No…!” Her words barely came out of her mouth until she saw Kate smash the wood across the back of Jordan’s head, the block of wood splintering into two as Jordan fell to his knees, cringing.

“ _No_ , Parrish!” Lydia screamed, watching him fall face forward to the ground unconscious, blood seeping from the wound on the back of his head. Her tears ran down her cheeks as she watched Kate drag Jordan next to her and tied him up roughly as well. Lyda felt her whole body start to tremble as Jordan slumped next to her, because if he dies, she wouldn’t be able to forgive herself. Too many people already died because of her. She couldn’t let him die too.

Lydia glanced back up at Kate, and she didn’t know what to feel anymore. Part of her wanted to scream at her while the other half wanted to beg her to please let Jordan go. “What do you want..?” Lydia found herself whispering, her voice failing her. “Just...let him go! He didn’t do anything to you!”

Kate laughed at her face as soon as she was done tying Jordan up. “Oh, but I need him, just as much as I need you.”

Lydia didn’t understand what Kate meant by that. Why did she need her? But most importantly, why did she need Jordan? She couldn’t help but wonder if it had something to do with what supernatural creature he was. “Do..Do you know what he is?!” Lydia demanded. “If you do, tell me!”

Kate merely laughed some more at Lydia’s poor attempt at demanding answers to her questions. “I don’t think you’re in any position to be asking me anything, princess. But if you’re oh so curious, don’t worry. You’ll find out soon.”

Lydia couldn’t believe it. After everything she had promised Jordan, after she told him she’d help him figure out what he is because she didn’t want him to find out like she did, it all seemed to crash down on herself.

It was almost like she was destined to fail.

Destined to make anyone who become close to her die.

“You see Lydia, you two are connected.” Kate continued, tilting the strawberry blonde’s chin up so that she was looking into the were-jaguar’s eyes again. “The omen of death and the guardian to the world of the dead are the two people who would help me get what I want. Those children who died, those were my sacrifices needed to get to the final step of this. And now that I have all of what I need, you two are the final step.”

Lydia’s tears burned her eyes, streaming down her face as she watched Kate walk away from them. She glanced to her side and saw Jordan. He was still unconscious, and she couldn’t help but blame herself for this. Why were they connected? And more importantly, _how?_ He shouldn’t be here. He would just get hurt. There will be a possibility that Kate would kill him. That she would kill _them._ But right now, death didn’t sound too bad for Lydia because at least if she dies, the people important to her wouldn’t, and she would do anything to keep them safe. Even if it means sacrificing herself.

She sobbed quietly for a few more minutes when she heard rustling in the trees again, and then—crying.

When Lydia looked up, she saw Kate reappear from the shadows of the trees, but this time she wasn’t alone. She had her grip around the tiny wrist of a small figure, and when the moonlight streamed over them, revealing the new face, Lydia saw a familiar dark haired little girl.

She was crying but at the same time, trying her best not to cry because that was what big girls were told to do. To be strong, to be brave. And all Lydia wanted to do was hold the tiny girl that reminded her too much of her best friend, hold her and tell her that it was okay to be afraid.

“N-No! Leave her alone, Kate! She didn’t do anything!” Lydia begged, watching as Kate merely smiled as she yanked Ally closer to the fire, making her whimper even louder as the flames started to dance across her skin hotly.

“Ahh, n-no, please, s-stop,” Ally whined, and Lydia’s heart sunk at the sight of it.

“It’s hurting her! Stop it!” Lydia yelled again.

But instead of stopping, Kate merely laughed and it was like a cackle echoing all around through the forest, making Lydia’s skin wrack up in goosebumps at the sound. “You want me to stop her pain?” Kate asked mockingly. “Oh, I’ll stop the pain alright.”

Lydia felt a shiver run down her spine at Kate’s words because she knew whatever she meant, it wasn’t good. And when she saw her take out the sharp metal blade she had against the banshee’s neck just a while ago, Lydia felt her heart stop beating. “No... _No!_ Don’t you d-dare!”

Kate placed the blade right near the jugular of Ally’s neck, making the girl scream but Kate immediately clamped a hand over her mouth, halting her screams. “Last time I told you to scream, didn’t I, Lydia? But we were so kindly interrupted by your deputy. But now, _now_ I’m going to make sure you scream.”

Lydia shook her head repeatedly, she wasn’t going to let another kid die, especially not right in front of her. “I’ll—scream! Just, don’t hurt her! Please!”

“I think it’s a little too late for that,” Kate hissed, pressing the blade further into the flesh of the girl’s neck and making bright red blood trickle down her skin. “ _Don’t you think?_ ” And before Lydia could even try and change her mind, Kate cuts through Ally’s neck swiftly before she could even blink, and the child falls to the ground like a rag doll, the life taken out of her in just a mere second, and there was nothing Lydia could do about it.

Nothing, except scream. And scream she did, at the top of her lungs so loudly that she was sure that the night sky was going to collapse on them if she didn’t stop screaming, so sure that if she continued screaming like this, maybe Ally would come back to life, maybe when Lydia opened her eyes again, she would have screamed the life back into the small child that had so much more ahead of her.

But none of that happened. And as Lydia’s scream finally faded into the trees, everything flashed in front of her eyes before she succumbed into unconsciousness.

 

 

**

 

She woke up to a twilight sky.

She was lying on the ground in a cluster of fallen leaves, and as she slowly sat up and looked around, she realized she was still in the preserve. But as she got up on to her feet, she realized that it was a different kind of preserve. Although everything looked the same, there was still something off about it and Lydia’s suspicions were only confirmed when she looked down at herself and realized she was wearing a black dress she didn’t even own. It was a black dress she recognized though, because it belonged to Allison.

That was when she knew she was dreaming.

She walked forward through the woods but she didn’t know where to go, or why she was even dreaming about being here in the first place. However, as she kept walking, it almost felt like it wasn’t a dream at all. Everything felt too real, the cool breeze against her face, the feeling of crushed leaves beneath her bare feet...She had dreams like this before, but never so clear, never so _vivid_.

As Lydia took another step forward, she suddenly heard a rustling coming from the trees. She froze, her heart nearly thumping out of her chest at the thought that it might be Kate, that if she was really dreaming, it would only make sense for it to be a nightmare, since that was all she seemed to be having lately. The rustling came to a still, but Lydia didn’t dare move. She knew how these kind of nightmares worked out. She would try running and whatever it was that was after her would chase her and end up killing her, and then she would wake up. But maybe that was her best option right now, because it seemed like the quickest way to wake up, yet Lydia couldn’t get herself to move.

Instead, she yelled, “Who’s there?”

If it was really a dream, or even a nightmare in this case, she usually had some control over them. She closed her eyes, thinking hard on that whoever it was behind the trees, _please_ not let it be Kate. Or Peter. _Let it be Scott or Allison or even Stiles—or Jordan._ Lydia thought about the peaceful green eyes of the deputy and she immediately felt herself relax at just the thought of them.

But when she opened her eyes again, she wasn’t greeted by a familiar face at all.

Instead, she saw bright glowing orange eyes of what looked like a huge black dog as it revealed itself from the trees, slowly trotting towards her. Lydia immediately took a step back as the dog moved closer to her, thinking that it was getting ready to jump on her and attack, but the dog merely nuzzled her ankle when it got close enough before sitting at her feet, looking up at her while the orange glow of its eyes faded into black. Lydia felt like she had seen that orange glow somewhere else before, but she couldn’t pinpoint exactly _where._

The dog—or well, it looked more like aweredogthan _just_ a dog, kept on pawing at Lydia’s feet and ankles, a gesture that it wanted to be touched and Lydia crouched down to scratch the monstrous dog behind the ears. It leaned into her touch and let out a low whine from its throat as it opened its mouth, letting its tongue waggle out in content, while revealing razor sharp teeth that made a shiver run down Lydia’s spine. The whole situation was screaming at her to run, to run far, _far_ away from this creature, but for some reason she couldn’t explain, she knew it wasn’t going to hurt her.

“Look at _you_ , all big and scary looking, but you’re acting just like Prada when I give her a belly rub,” Lydia cooed, a small smile curving on her lips as she continued scratching under its dark scruff.

She was so sure that the dog was going to roll over on its back for her, but instead it suddenly turned its head away from her, looking towards a specific direction in the woods before suddenly running off.

“Wait! Where are you going?” Lydia found herself calling out, and she had to restrain herself from calling it _doggy_ like she did with Prada because whatever _it_ was, it definitely wasn’t anything like the ball of fluff she had at home.

The weredog came to a halt instantaneously after she said that, turning its head to look at her again for a few long moments before turning back towards the direction it was running in, and Lydia understood the gesture.

It wanted her to follow it.

She ran after the creature, realizing she didn’t have much of a choice anyways, since if this was really a dream, a nightmare— _whatever_ , there had to be a reason she was seeing this weredog in the first place, and the only way to find out that reason right now was to follow it. And follow she did, although it was more like trying to catch up because the creature was much faster than her, but it seemed to understand her lack of keeping up a pace because it would slow down to a stop, letting her catch up, before running off once more towards its destination.

And that destination, Lydia soon found out, was the Argent house.

She hadn’t been here for nearly over a year, ever since Allison had moved out to that apartment with her father and it felt strange seeing the place so suddenly again, even if it was just a dream. She didn’t know why it had brought her here out of all places, but the weredog seemed to know exactly what it was doing because Lydia watched as it ran up the front steps of the porch of the house before stopping right at the front door and then lying down at the threshold of the house. Lydia didn’t understand what was going on and she took a step forward towards Allison’s house instinctively, but just as she did, the weredog raised its head and started howling.

It was nothing like she had ever heard before. It was not like Scott’s alpha howl, or even like a werewolf howl at all. Instead, it was low and hoarse and full of _sadness_ , and strangely everything about it screamed death as it echoed through her ears, and it somewhat reminded her of her own screams.

The howling must have triggered something inside herself, because Lydia soon started to hear the whispers crowd all around her, and at first they were just incoherent mumblings, but as the howling and the baying of the creature continued, the whispers turned louder and louder until they were no longer whispers.

 _Lydia!_  
  
Wake up, L-Lydia, wake up.

She recognized the voice, that gentle call of her name, and as she turned to look back at the porch of Allison’s house, she found that the weredog was no longer there. And before she even knew it, everything was shattering around her and flashing right before her eyes.

“ _Lydia.._ ”

She stirred for a moment, hearing that familiar soothing voice.

“L..Lydia. Wake up.”

She slowly opened her eyes and saw a blurry figure. She blinked a few times to clear her vision and saw Jordan next to her. He was awake. He was okay.

“P.. Parrish,” Lydia said, “are you okay?”

She saw how he nodded and struggled to move closer to her, to close the space between them. He shook his head and sighed. Lydia could see guilt in his eyes and didn’t understood why. She was the one who was supposed to feel this way. She was the one who brought him in this trouble.

Her mind flashed back to her dream, if it even was a dream, and she tried to make sense of it but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t. She sighed. “I’m sorry,” Lydia suddenly apologized, making Jordan glance up to her and furrow his eyebrows.

“For what? This isn’t your fault, Lydia. None of it is. Don’t blame yourself for this. If anyone is blaming anyone, it should be Kate. She was the one who did this. Who k-killed that girl.”

Lydia couldn’t help but glanced at the lifeless body not far from them. Another girl was dead because she hadn't saved her. She couldn’t help but think how she just sat there and watched Kate slice her neck and now, she was gone. A part of her couldn’t even dare to look at the girl anymore, but the other part of her couldn’t get her to tear her gaze away, constantly trying to remind her that this was her fault.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” Jordan said softly, interrupting her thoughts. “Lydia, look at me.”

Lydia slowly turned to face Jordan and looked into his green eyes. Oh, those green eyes that always distracted her when she was at the station with him. Those green eyes who had seen so many die. Those green eyes that sparkled whenever he smiled.

Those green eyes that made her feel _so safe._

“We’re gonna get out of here, okay? I promise. I will find a way to get us out of here alive.” Lydia nodded at Jordan’s words, tears welling up in her eyes. She saw Jordan struggle for a moment before she felt his warm hand over hers, and it made her heart swell at the thought of how even in the situation they were in, he was still trying to comfort her as much as he could.

“Well, look who’s awake.”

Lydia turned to see Kate walking towards them with a knife in her hands. Her whole body couldn’t help but shiver because she knew one of them was about to get hurt. Lydia felt Jordan struggle once more, trying to jerk and pull at the ropes, hoping that would make them loosen up so he could be free, but Lydia knew that wasn’t gonna happen.

“It’s time.” Kate smiled deviously, taking Lydia’s wrist and setting the knife over it.

“No!” Jordan yelled, “don’t you dare!”

Kate stopped right above the skin of Lydia’s wrist to turn and kick Jordan on the stomach, making him groan in pain.

“Shut up!” Kate exclaimed before cutting the rope that was on Lydia’s wrist.

She cut each one of the ropes that had her hands and feet restrained before grabbing Lydia by the arm and hoisting her up from the ground. Lydia was trembling, scared of what Kate would do to her next. If she was going to die that night, she was hoping that it would be a good cost. She hoped that through her death, no one would ever die or get hurt again. But maybe, that was just wishful thinking.

“C’mon!” Kate commanded, dragging Lydia towards the fire, but Lydia shook her head and tried restraining from her grip.

“Let her go!” Jordan yelled louder, continuing to pull recklessly at the ropes.

“Shut up! C’mon!” Kate yelled, grabbing Lydia hard and pushing her in front of the fire, where she could feel the heat starting to burn her skin. She was only about three inches away from the fire when Kate grabbed her wrist and pushed it towards the fire, making Lydia wince.

“I said let go of her!”

Lydia turned to see Jordan next to Kate. She gasped when she saw his eyes were glowing orange just like what Chris told them, just like she had seen back at the warehouse with the Wendigo. Just like the eyes of the weredog in her dream. Her breath hitched at the realization, but it was immediately pushed aside when she felt a sharp pain jolt through her arm, bringing her attention back to her wrist which was now bleeding into the fire. She winced as she tried to pull her hand away from Kate, but it was futile as she held her in a bruising hold.

“Look at him,” Kate suddenly hissed, holding her face with her other hand as she roughly jerked Lydia’s head back towards where Jordan was tied up, and her breath caught in her throat. Not only were Jordan’s eyes glowing more than she had ever seen them glow before, but he was also _growling_ now and snarling, and it was almost like a side of him that Lydia had never seen before.

Almost as if he was a monster.

 _No._ Lydia immediately pushed that thought aside. Jordan wasn’t a monster, the Jordan she knew wasn’t, and he would never be.

“He’s a monster,” Kate hissed again, as if she had read that unwanted thought in Lydia’s mind.  
  
“N-No!” Lydia stuttered out, staring down the were-jaguar intensely. “Not all monsters do monstrous things.”

Her words merely made Kate smile. “Are you sure about that, sweetheart? Are you sure if I don’t untie him right now, he won’t attack you? He will.”

“N-no...You’re wrong!” Lydia wouldn’t believe it. She knew Jordan would never hurt her. Never. “You don’t know him like I do!”

“But in that case, you’re wrong. I do know him,” Kate clarified. “Know him more than you do in fact, because I know exactly what _he is_. He’s a monster. He’s a _Barghest._ Do you know what a Barghest is, Lydia?” Kate kneeled down in front of her, while she trembled and shook her head.  “A Barghest is a goblin dog. Their eyes glows orange when they get excited, and they guard the entrances to the world of dead and you, Lydia, are a banshee. An omen of death. I need both of you, because in a way you are both the same thing. Omens of death. And you two are exactly what I need so that this experiment of mine will be successful.”

Lydia gasped in surprise. “W-What…?” The words echoed through her mind over and over again. _A Barghest._ After all the research and studying they had done, she finally found out what he was, and through the worst possible way ever. It reminded her too much of how she found out she was a banshee when Jennifer had kept her hostage, and she couldn’t help but lower her gaze, feeling guilty. And at that moment, she also realized another thing.

Her dream wasn’t just any dream. It was a revelation to what was going to happen next.

And the weredog? It was no other than Jordan.

Lydia let out a stuttered gasp at the realization, as the dots that finally looked like they were connecting, finally starting to make sense. But there was still something she couldn’t understand. Why was Kate doing this? Her eyes glanced towards her bloodied wrist and she knew that by the time she found out her answer, it would be too late.

But what happened next, not even Kate could have expected it.

A scream suddenly resounded through the forest and this time it wasn’t from Lydia. It was from Kate, who was tackled to the ground by no one else but Jordan, who had somehow torn the ropes off his wrists, and when Lydia glanced down to his hands, she gasped when she saw _claws._

Lydia watched as Jordan pushed Kate far away from her before gently grabbing Lydia by her wrist and standing in front of her protectively. Kate’s claws appeared as well as she turned to look at Jordan, her face contorting into her animal self. Lydia gasped and held on to Jordan’s arm, not caring at the moment that there was a possibility that Jordan could be just as dangerous as Kate. She didn’t care because she knew just like the weredog in her dream, Jordan wasn’t going to hurt her. This man that she barely knew, but at the same time knew too much of stood in front of her like a shield, like her guardian angel, as he growled at Kate. Even in his somewhat supernatural form, he was still protecting her. He was always protecting her.

Kate suddenly growled back as she took a stepped towards them, and Lydia held tighter to Jordan’s arm. But before a fight could ensue, something that sounded too much like an explosion went off behind them, making the three of them all fall to the ground. Lydia winced at the impact her body had to the ground, but the pain was quickly replaced by Jordan’s protective arms wrapping around her. But before she could even turn and face him, her attention was caught by the way the fire started to act up, the flames getting bigger and bigger before she saw something emerging from it.

Lydia suddenly gasped in surprise and disbelief, a single tear running down her cheek when she finally saw the familiar figure walk out of the fire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry to end on a cliffhanger and I'm even more sad to say this but, TDTB will be going on a short hiatus due to KC going out of the country for a few weeks. But don't worry, TDTB will be back on April 24th with the next chapter, so until then, keep on marrishing! :)


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  
> 
>   
> 

_**JORDAN** _

* * *

 

When she walked out of the fire, Jordan recognized her instantaneously, because how could he not? He had seen pictures of her when he went over the post-mortem, pictures of her on Lydia’s phone when she first confided her feelings to him. He heard descriptions of the kind of person she was, from Lydia, from Scott, even from Chris after he had saved him in the sewers. She was a hero and a close friend in all of their eyes, especially Lydia’s, and Jordan always felt guilty for never getting the chance to meet her, because he knew it would have been an honor to meet the courageous young woman.

But now, Allison was standing in front of him like she was never gone in the first place and it took his breath away. He was in disbelief.  
  
“Is...Is that her? Is that really Allison?” The words left his mouth as he glanced towards Lydia, who was trembling and more in shock than him.

She nodded, tears welling up in her eyes. “A...Allison…?”  
  
The huntress immediately turned at the sound of her name being called from her best friend’s lips, the fire that she just emerged from crackling in the background as she stared at her best friend in just as much disbelief. Tears welled up in both girls’ eyes and Jordan watched as Lydia brought a quivering hand up to cover her mouth, her trembling turning into shaking as loud sobs erupted from her before she finally staggered, and Jordan was by her in a heart beat. He grabbed her firmly by the shoulders before she could fall, and she leaned into him, still sobbing and still in shock. He could only imagine what could possibly be running through her mind right now, at the sight of seeing her best friend standing in front of her once again. Alive.

“L-Lydia?” Allison tried to step closer towards her best friend, but her legs betrayed her, making her stumble slightly but she caught herself in time as she stared down at her legs, at her body. She touched her fingers, her face, the slight curls of her dark hair, as if trying to make sure she was all there. As if trying to make sure she was real—that whatever was happening was all real. And when she realized that it was, a smile quivered on her lips as the tears streaked her cheeks. “L-Lydia…!”

Jordan expected Lydia to force her way out of his arms and go running towards the brunette, but instead her grip on him only tightened. Glancing down at her, he could see the doubt and the fear crossing her features, her pale lips pressing into a thin line of worry, and he knew why.   
  
She had lost her best friend once already, and she didn’t want to lose her again.

“Go.” The word left his lips gently, making Lydia look up at him questioningly with teary eyes. He stared into her hazel green eyes, the same eyes that he was starting to think held the whole universe in them, and he slowly nodded again while curling a loose strand of her hair behind her ear.

“Is...Is this r-real?” She asked, voice trembling as she tried to find reassurance within him.

“Yeah, it is,” Jordan whispered to her in the silence of the night, wanting to not only reassure her but also show her that _this was real._ “It’s going to be okay. She’s real, Lydia. Now, go to her.” His hands left her shoulders gradually as he let her go, and he watched as she turned, as she stepped away from him and slowly walked towards Allison.

The huntress wasted no time rushing towards the strawberry blonde, still unsteady on her legs to the point where she almost knocked Lydia down as she enveloped her in her arms. “Oh my god, _oh my god_ ,” Allison gasped as she held her best friend tightly, and Jordan could still see her shaking within the brunette’s arms. “It’s y-you, it’s really you, Lyds.”

Lydia was in no state or condition to say anything, to process any words as of that moment, so she just cried. Cried openly on her best friend’s shoulder, loud crippling sobs that echoed all around the forest like a banshee scream, except hearing her like this made something in Jordan break down. It made him want to step forward, want to run towards Lydia and take her in his arms too, but he knew better than to do that. This wasn’t about him.   
  
This was about her finally getting her best friend back.

“A-Ally, I-I missed you so much,” Lydia sobbed, pulling away slightly too look at her as she raised her shaky hands touch the other girl’s cheek. “T-This isn’t a dream…”  
  
Allison bit her lip and smiled. “No, it’s not, Lyds,” she said, bringing her own hand up to wipe Lydia’s tears away. “Now, please stop crying. Remember what you would tell me? Never frown, because someone could be falling in love with your smile.”

She laughed quietly and her words managed to bring a small crinkle of a smile on Lydia’s lips, and just the sight of it made a single tear fall from Jordan’s eyes as he quickly wiped it away. He couldn’t help but smile a little bit as well, because Lydia’s smile was like the light at the end of tunnel. _Hope._

“Allison…?”

Jordan turned his gaze away from the two girls and saw Kate limping towards them, her face no longer contorted in its werejaguar form and her eyes widened at the sight of her neice. “It worked...I can’t believe it worked…,” she mumbled and Jordan didn’t know what she meant. All he knew was that Kate had done something to bring Allison back, but he didn’t understand how he or even Lydia fit into the situation. His mind felt blurred, distorted, and now that he tried to think about it, he couldn’t remember what happened.

The only thing he could remember was that Kate was the one that kidnapped Lydia. _Had hurt her_. And just the thought of the strawberry blonde getting hurt made anger start to pulse through his veins, as he found himself glaring at Kate now. “Don’t come any closer!” His voice echoed through the trees as he grabbed his gun off the ground and edged closer until he was standing protectively in front of Lydia and Allison with his finger steady on the trigger and the barrel pointed at Kate.  
  
“Really, pretty boy? I thought you would have learned the first time,” Kate snarled. “Move out of the way. Don’t force me to hurt you again.” And then a devious smile curved on her lips as Jordan watched her eyes glance between him and Lydia. “Or hurt _her._ You care a lot about her, don’t you?”

Her threatening tone made another rush of anger bolt through him, a feeling that was almost foreign to him because it wasn’t like him to feel like this, to feel his blood pumping through his entire body, to feel every inch of his skin burning up like he was about to be set on fire all over again.  
  
But this, this was a different type of fire. A fire that had always been inside him, but was only being ignited now, and he realized that every time Lydia had been in some sort of trouble, he felt like this. From the situation with the Wendigo at the warehouse, to the group of guys who harassed her, to _right now_.  
  
And Jordan wasn’t sure why he only felt like this when the strawberry blonde was in danger. He didn’t understand it...The only thing he could understand at that moment was how much he wanted to pull the trigger and finish off Kate once and for all.  
  
“Wait.”  
  
Jordan felt a hand on his shoulder and he turned to see Allison’s dark eyes staring at him. “Let me...talk to her,” she said, slowly stepping in front of him now. Jordan had no other choice but to let her as he nodded and lowered his gun cautiously, while feeling Lydia suddenly grip on to the back of his shirt as Allison stepped closer to her estranged aunt.

The look on Kate’s face was similar to the one where a mother was finally seeing her long lost daughter after so many years, or in this case, coming back from being dead.   
  
“Allison…,” She whispered, trying her best to hold back tears as she pulled her niece into her arms, but Allison made no move to hug her back. “I missed you so much,” she murmured into the brunette’s hair, “when I came back, I came back for you and only you...” She pulled away slightly and cupped Allison’s face within her hands, staring at her. “But when I came back, I couldn’t find you. And that’s when I found out that you...you were killed because..because of them!” Kate shot a glare towards where Lydia was standing behind him, and grit her teeth. “They never even cared about you!”  
  
“That’s n-not true!” Lydia screamed, tears stinging her eyes again at the accusation and Jordan tried his best to comfort her.  
  
Kate merely scoffed as she turned back to Allison, who still stood expressionless in front of her. “Don’t listen to her, Ally...If they really cared so much, then why did your big ol’ alpha boyfriend move on to a new girl so quickly? Like you were just some pretty thing to play around with! He didn’t deserve you! And your so called best friend? The banshee genius? She didn’t even try to bring you back! She had the power to, but she didn’t even use it! You know why? Because they don’t care!”   
  
Kate was screaming now, trying to prove her point, and Jordan wanted to so badly intervene and tell her to shut up, tell her that she didn’t know anything. That she didn’t know how much Lydia missed her best friend everyday, that she didn’t know how many times the strawberry blonde would visit her dead best friend’s grave with the girl’s favorite flowers. He wanted to tell her that out of everyone from the whole pack, Lydia was the most broken after Allison’s death and even now, she still was broken, slowly and steadily trying to repair herself back. So to say that Lydia didn’t care made Jordan’s blood boil because he knew that there was no one else in this whole world that cared more about Allison Argent than Lydia Martin.

But before he could even open his mouth to say anything, Allison did what he least expected her to do. She forcefully grabbed Kate by the shoulders and pushed her away, her quiet demeanor crippling away as anger swept across her features. “Shut up! Just shut up!” She yelled, scowling, her sudden tone rendering disbelief on Kate’s face. “You don’t have any right to say anything against my friends, especially since you tried to kill them, to hurt them! You tried to turn Scott into a berserker...You even teamed up with Peter, who’s always tried to hurt him. To hurt the pack.” She was glaring daggers at Kate now, her fists clenching and nails digging visibly into her palms. “So don’t you fucking dare try to say that they didn’t care. They’re the only ones that cared.” Her eyes then glanced towards Lydia. “She’s the only one that cared.”

Jordan couldn’t help but widen his eyes in wonder, because that meant that Allison was already aware of everything that happened in Mexico.

But _how?_  
  
Kate looked speechless. She wasn’t expecting this kind of reply, this kind of animosity from the niece that she just conjured up from the dead. “Allison, just hear me out—”  
  
“Don’t.” Allison held up a firm hand, stopping the were-jaguar in her tracks. “Don’t come any closer. Just...leave.”

A heavy silence filled the air between them and Jordan heard a quiet gasp escape Lydia’s lips from what just happened.  
  
Kate looked baffled. “You...You don’t mean that, Allison. Say you don’t mean that!” She tried to step closer to her again, grabbing on to the brunette’s arm desperately.

“Don’t touch me!” Allison yelled, jerking away from her aunt’s touch and showing that every word she had uttered was serious.

“Allison—”  
  
“You heard her,” Jordan finally said, intervening because he didn’t want things to get anymore uglier. He didn’t want Kate to hurt anyone else again, although he knew that Allison could probably hold off on her own, he also knew that if Kate got to Lydia again, both of them would be vulnerable. Which was why he stepped towards Kate, gun gripped tightly in his hand just in case. “It’s better if you leave.”  
  
Kate glanced between him and Allison, her eyes lingering longer on her niece who didn’t even meet her gaze, sending a straightforward answer.

Kate stepped back and nodded, surprising Jordan because he didn’t expect it to be that easy. “I’ll go,” she said slowly, “but I have one request.”   
  
At the sound of this, Allison’s gaze shot back up towards Kate, her eyes prompting her to proceed.  
  
“I want you to forgive me, Allison,” she said, pleadingly, and although Jordan’s never known Kate Argent, he knew she wasn’t the type of person to plead. “I know I’m not the type of person that deserves to be forgiven, after all the shit I’ve done, all the people I’ve hurt. But I had my reasons, and maybe they were selfish reasons, but still. All I want right now is to know that you forgive me, sweetheart.”  
  
Jordan could sense the sincerity in Kate’s voice and he’s read through people long enough to know whether they were being genuine or not, and Kate definitely was. He didn’t know what answer to expect from Allison, although the thought of her forgiving her did cross his mind, even if it meant just to make her leave. It would be a catharsis for both of them.  
  
But the words that came out of Allison’s mouth were the exact opposite. “No. I’m not going to forgive you, because you’re right. You don’t deserve to be forgiven after all the fucked up things you did to my friends.” There was no hesitation in her voice and the words hung heavy in the air as they left her lips.

And that’s when he knew that it was the end.

“...Alright,” Kate murmured as she finally stepped back, accepting that maybe forgiveness wasn’t in her fate.   
Jordan watched as Kate turned her back to them and walked away, the leaves crunching under her heavy boots as she took one glance back, to look at Allison, keeping her gaze on her momentarily as if she was waiting for her to take back her words.

But Allison said nothing.

Jordan watched as Kate disappeared into the dark trees of the Preserve and as soon as she was gone, Lydia quickly rushed away from his side to Allison, enveloping the brunette into her arms so tightly, as if it were a life or death situation.  
  
And maybe it was.  
  
“Please, _please_ don’t leave again,” Lydia whimpered, burying her face into Allison’s shoulder. “Y-You’re my best friend...I can’t—I can’t have you leave again.”  
  
Allison slowly wrapped her arms around the strawberry blonde and brushed her hair soothingly. “I’m not going anywhere. Not this time,” she whispered softly, her gaze suddenly shifting towards him and Jordan felt his gaze locked with hers.

It sent a strange shiver down his spine as he stared into the dark eyes of the huntress, and without thinking he stepped back and turned away. Part of him thought he was intruding on their reunion like that, but there was another part of him that couldn’t help but feel anxiety driven under Allison’s gaze like that. So, he looked away and placed his gun back into his holster, replacing it with his phone.

He called up the Sheriff while thinking of a way to explain everything, because he was still trying to wrap his mind around what just happened tonight.

 

**

 

They went back to the station, where a lot of questions were raised by the Sheriff at the first sight of Allison, and while Lydia called Scott, Stiles, and the others to inform them about what happened, Jordan explained the best he could to Sheriff about what Kate had done. The Sheriff had a lot of questions, just like he expected, but Jordan didn’t have any answers to them just yet.

“I’ve seen a lot of crazy things in the past two years here, werewolves, kitsunes, banshees, heck, even Peter came back to life and I wasn’t _that_ surprised,” The Sheriff said, pacing in his office as Jordan watched him before the older man quickly countered, “alright, maybe I was a _little_ surprised...But this?” He glanced out towards where Allison was sitting with Lydia on one of the benches just outside the office before looking back at him with a tense expression. “I don’t know what to say, Parrish. What to think.”  
  
Jordan sighed and tried to say, “Sir, I know it’s a lot to digest—”  
  
“To digest?” The Sheriff interrupted, looking at the young deputy with wide eyes. “I’m going to have to swallow this down before I can digest it, Parrish.”  
  
He bit his lip and nodded. “I...understand, sir.” Thinking that it was the end of the discussion, Jordan turned to leave but only to be interrupted once more as the Sheriff spoke again.

“I went to her funeral...I watched her body go down into the casket. I wiped Lydia’s tears away, I dropped roses on _her grave_.” The Sheriff wiped a hand across his face, clearly distressed. “I...I watched Stiles have nightmares about it, he still has them actually, not as much as before but still sometimes…”  
  
Jordan could only wonder what Stiles’ reaction would be when he saw Allison again. He knew that at the time of Allison’s death, Stiles had been possessed by the Nogitsune, but even then Jordan understood the guilt the kid would be feeling. It was the same thing he felt after Camden had died, how he felt so guilty because he thought it was his fault. And sometimes, he still thought it was.

“Sheriff?”  
  
The two of them turned towards the door and saw Melissa standing there, eyes already slightly tearing as she tried her best to force a smile towards their direction. Jordan figured that she had already seen Allison and went through the initial shock on the way here.

The Sheriff walked over to Mrs. Mccall, thanking her for coming in on such short notice as he led her back outside the office. Jordan could overhear Melissa starting to ask questions such as, _what’s going on? How did this happen?_ , before their voices faded into the distance, leaving Jordan alone in the office.

He moved towards the Sheriff’s desk to take out the papers from the file on Allison’s death because they were going to have to readjust some things now that she was back. But before he could even look over the papers, the office door opened again calling for his attention.

“Parrish?”

Lydia stood in front of him and the first thing he noticed was that her eyes were red from crying, any mascara and eyeliner she had on wiped away, and despite the circumstances of the situation, Jordan couldn’t help but think how beautiful she looked.   
  
“Lydia…,” he said slowly, making his way towards her. “Is everything alright? Do you need anything?” He saw a certain look in her glassy eyes, a look that said she wanted to say something to him.

“Yeah, everything’s okay,” she spoke softly, her voice still raspy and sore from screaming. “But...But I don’t know if they’ll always be okay.” She bit her lower lip and looked away from him, blinking her tears away. She didn’t want to cry in front of him again.

“Hey, hey, don’t say that.” Jordan took her hands in his, making her glance up at him in a bit of surprise but she didn’t pull her hands away. She didn’t pull away as he started stroking soothing circles into the palms of her hands with the pad of his thumb, and instead he felt her hands relax in his. “I know there’s a lot going on right now,” he continued in a gentle tone, “but that doesn’t mean things won’t be okay at the end. They will. _I promise._ ”  
  
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, deputy,” she responded with a half hearted snort, as if she was used to it, and he could only imagine how many times people had broken their promises to her.  
  
“I’m going to keep this one,” Jordan told her with full sincerity, because he meant every word of it as he lightly squeezed her hands in comfort. “That’s my promise to you.”

Lydia’s expression softened at his words as her lips finally curled up in that smile that he loved so much, and he couldn’t help but grin back at her. “Thank you,” she said, her voice cracking and her eyes welling up with tears again no matter how hard she tried to keep them in. “I...I don’t know what to say. I just feel like crying, but I don’t want to cry. I don’t want to be weak. I should be happy, shouldn’t I? M-My best friend’s back...And I want to cry.”

Jordan could feel her slowly breaking, her face crumpling up, and he quickly pulled her into his arms without hesitation. “Then cry,” he whispered into her hair. “A lot happened today. You have every right to cry. Crying doesn’t make you weak, Lydia. It makes you strong.”  
  
“I’m n-not strong,” she whimpered into his chest, breaking down completely. “B-Because of me, you got hurt today, b-because of me that little girl d-died. Don’t you get it, Parrish? It’s always _because of me!_ ”

“Shhh.” He held her tightly, afraid that she’d slip away if he didn’t, as he brushed a hand through her curls. “No, it’s not. Don’t say that. Everything that happened today wasn’t because of you, it was because of Kate. She’s responsible for hurting me, for killing that girl. For all the horrible things that happened tonight. Not you. And we’ll do everything we can to find her, I promise you that too.”

Lydia steadily pulled herself away from where she was enveloped in his arms and looked up at him, tears staining her flushed cheeks. She looked so small in his arms and all Jordan wanted to do was hold her and hide her away from the world and all it’s pain, because she had seen too much of it.

“Not everything she did tonight…was exactly horrible,” Lydia suddenly said, making Jordan’s eyes widen.

“What...What do you mean..?”

She swallowed hard and looked into his eyes and he saw the same look he had seen when she first entered the room, a look that said she wanted to tell him something _so_ desperately. “Kate told me what you are.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, it felt like the whole room went still. His breath caught in his throat as he tried to make sense of what she just said. “Kate—Kate told you what I am?” The question left his mouth as if he didn’t believe it the first time he heard it and he needed to hear it again, just to make sure.

Lydia nodded. “I’m sorry, I was going to tell you, but then everything happened and Allison…” Her words trailed off and he understood. A lot had happened tonight, it wasn’t a surprise it slipped her mind like that.

His next question didn’t even need to be said. “ _What am I?_ ”

“A Barghest.” And it was like a weight finally being lifted off his shoulders when she uttered those words. “A Hellhound.”

Jordan didn’t exactly know what a Barghest was, and he only knew a little bit about Hellhounds. They were supernatural dogs that were often associated with the afterlife and were often seen as bad omens as well. He didn’t understand how that could possibly apply to him, but he figured that now that they’ve at least had a decent lead, they could probably get somewhere. “I...I don’t know what to say,” he said, running a hand through his hair, perplexed, and when he glanced back at Lydia he could see a similar expression mirrored on her as well. He sighed. “ _If_ Kate’s right, if that’s really what I am, what are we suppose to do? I mean, what’s next? We don’t even know anything about Barghests…” And then remembering that he was standing in front of the smartest person in the whole damn county he asked, “ _Do you?_ ”

“Not as much as I wish I knew,” she retorted. “But I do know that Barghests are a specific type of Hellhound. There are different types depending on which folklore you look into, but just like any Hellhound, a Barghest’s eyes glow red and they are fire resistant. They’re also described as being a monstrous black dog with sharp teeth and claws and are seen as guards of the entrance to the world of the dead.”   
  
_A monstrous black dog._ The words hit him hard, because he didn’t want to be a monster. All he wanted to do was help people, perform his duty to the utmost efficiency and protect this town, and maybe even become Sheriff one day. But that all seemed like a far fetched dream now.

“Hey.”

Jordan felt a gentle hand cover his, making him look up and meet Lydia’s reassuring smile. “I know I told you I was going to help you figure out what you were...and I sort of failed at that because you found out the last way I wanted you to find out.” Her smile faded as she pressed her lips together and he knew she was thinking back to how she found out she was the wailing woman of death, in a life threatening situation under the hands of the Darach. “But I don’t want you to go through the same thing as me,” she continued, “I don’t want you to be lost like me. I don’t—”

“Lydia?”  
  
Allison stood at the doorway of the office, staring with a furrowed look at where Lydia’s hands were still joined with his, making him immediately let go of the strawberry blonde sheepishly. “Ms. Argent,” he said, not sure whether he was allowed to call her by her first name or not, but he didn’t want to take any chances. “Are you alright?”

She looked at him and quickly uttered, "I'm fine" before looking back towards the redhead. "Lyds...I thought you said you're taking me home. Where's my dad? Is...he here? And Scott?"

Telling by her questions, Jordan knew that Allison wasn't aware that Scott was out of town or how much physical and emotional turmoil her father had gone through after his daughter's death. He couldn't even imagine what Chris' reaction would be when he was face to face with the very daughter whose lifeless body he carried in a casket to the grave. 

"They'll be here soon, Allison," Lydia said, walking over to the brunette and holding her hands reassuringly. “And they’ll be so happy to see you.”  
  
Allison nodded hesitatingly while biting her lower lip, her gaze shifting from Lydia back to him and there was something in her gaze that Jordan saw that looked cautionary towards him. It confused him, but at the same time it made sense in a way because out of everyone that she had seen, he was the newest addition.

She tugged on Lydia’s hand relentlessly, “Let’s go home?”  
  
Lydia nodded but before she even exited the room, she glanced over her shoulder back at him with a worried look. Jordan already knew what she was thinking, why she was worried, and he immediately said, “I’ll be okay.” He threw a soft smile towards her direction, wanting to make sure that she didn’t stress out more by worrying about him on top of everything else that was already happening.

Lydia gave him a swift nod, her eyes lingering longer on him before she was promptly lead out of the office by Allison, finally leaving himself alone to his thoughts.

 

 

**

 

 

He didn’t see Lydia for days after that. 

And it was reasonable, he tried to tell himself, because Allison was back and it was only right that Lydia spent as much time as she could with her. Jordan also knew that there was probably a pack reunion as well because he had seen Stiles in the station the day before, notifying him that he and Scott were finally back. He wasn’t sure about the others but it was none of his business anyways. He didn’t want to intervene between any of them because for all he knew, the atmosphere was most likely very fragile and vulnerable around them. They needed time to cope, to understand, to let bygones be bygones. They were only teenagers, it would take some time to grasp, Jordan understood that.

But even if he did understand it, it didn’t stop him from missing Lydia so much.

In fact, it made him feel guilty that he _missed_ her. It made him feel selfish, because he knew that she belonged with Allison, with the pack right now, but whenever he saw the empty seat next to him not occupied by the strawberry blonde, he couldn’t shake the feeling away.

He tried his best to get his mind off her by throwing himself into research to try and figure out more about what he was, if he was really a Barghest.

He didn’t really get anywhere however, because he was so used to being guided through all the supernatural stuff by Lydia. Not to mention the fact that most of the bestiary and corresponding information they found in other books was mostly in Latin, which he didn’t know an ounce of.

He even tried to head over to Deaton to see if the druid could guide him in the right direction, but realized that the man had temporarily dropped his 'veterinarian' duties in order to pursue the supernaturals that ran away from the hidden floor at Eichen House.

Due to all this, Jordan pushed the research to the side, deciding that whatever supernatural abilities he had would have to wait until later. Instead, he tried to drown himself in paperwork at the station to try and clear his mind of her.

"Why the long face, Parrish?"

Jordan glanced up to see Deputy Peterson grinning down at him while holding out a cup of steaming hot coffee for him, which he took gingerly. "Nothing, just lots of work to finish. The usual."

"Are you sure it's that?" The other deputy said, arching a brow at him as he sat down in Lydia's usual seat. "And not because you're missing your little assistant?"

Jordan frowned. "Don't undermine her like that. She's not an assistant. In fact, she's been solving more crimes around here than you've ever had." The words came out defensive and slightly rude, but Jordan didn't care because he wasn't going to let anyone get away with calling Lydia an assistant. 

"Sounds like you've gotten quite fond of her," Peterson teased, grinning into his coffee.

Jordan wanted to snort. _Fond_ was a terrible understatement. “Don’t you have work to do?” He said instead, not wanting to be harassed about his relationship with Lydia.

Peterson chuckled but got up anyways, finally leaving the other deputy alone to sulk while he did his work, but not for long as he heard the door open once more. Thinking it was Peterson again, Jordan said quickly without looking up, “I have a lot of work to do, Peterson. Go bother someone else.”

When he didn’t hear a reply in return, he sighed and finally glanced up but only to find himself looking at not Peterson, but Allison.

The sight of the dark brunette immediately got Jordan on his feet, maybe a little too quickly because he not so subtly banged his knee against the desk, earning a wince from him and not so much as a reaction from the Argent girl. “What—What brings you here, Ms. Argent?” Jordan asked clumsily, moving his way around the desk and making his way towards her. He half expected to see Lydia strutting her way in behind her, but as he peered over the brunette’s shoulder, there was no one.

“Lydia’s in the car,” Allison replied, noticing his wandering gaze. “We’re going to the cemetery. I asked her if I could see my grave—that’s not weird is it?”

“Uh, no,” He said quickly. “Of course not.” He didn’t understand why Allison had come to see him, but then he figured that maybe she hadn’t come to see him but instead the Sheriff. “If you’ve come to see the Sheriff, he’s actually out right now but I can leave a message for him?”

She shook her head. “I didn’t come here to see him, I came here to see you. I told Lydia I wanted to thank you.”

Jordan felt an embarrassed blush start to burn his face from Allison’s gesture because he didn’t want her to think that she needed to thank him for anything. “You really don’t have to, Ms. Argent, I was just doing my job—”

“Stop. Talking.” Allison frowned at him and it was like her whole demeanor changed as she looked at him with cold eyes. “I told Lydia I was going to thank you. That doesn’t mean I’m going to really do it.”

Jordan furrowed his brow, confused. “I don’t understand.”

Her expression didn’t change as she crossed her arms and glowered at him. “Then you better. Because I want you to _stay away_ from Lydia.”

His eyes widened. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. ”W-What? But why?” He stumbled out, trying to wrap his mind around what Allison was suggesting, no, _demanding_ from him.

She didn’t answer his question though. “She’s only eighteen, you know that right?”

Jordan swallowed hard at her words. They hurt him deeply, making him feel all sorts of guilty that he couldn’t even look Allison in the eye. What was he _thinking?_ She was right. Lydia was just eighteen, he was twenty-four, they couldn’t. He couldn’t.  “I...understand,” he answered quietly, embarrassingly.

And if that wasn’t enough, Allison went further. “No you _don’t_ ,” she said harshly, “because if you did, you would have stayed away from her in the first place.”

With those words said, she walked away, not even bothering to give him another glance as she exited the station. As soon as she was gone, Jordan slammed his fist against the desk, not in anger, but in frustration at himself for even thinking Lydia and him could be something.

Something more than what they already had.

As he stared down at the crack he made into the desk, his hand not even bruised from the punch, he cursed himself for falling in love with the one girl he could never be with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Due to KC and I being super busy with school, we'll be updating TDTB either weekly or biweekly depending on how much time we have to write on particular weeks.


	11. Chapter 11

_**LYDIA** _

* * *

 

 

After Lydia waited for Allison to come back from the station, Lydia was glad to see the smile on Allison’s face as soon as she got inside the passenger seat. She was glad to hear from Allison that she thought Jordan was a nice guy. Lydia then started driving towards the cemetery because she knew Allison wanted to see her grave.

As soon as they arrived to the grave, it was weird for Lydia to even look at it, while her best friend, she thought who was dead, was now standing next to her. It was all happening so fast. She couldn’t wrap her mind to it. Allison was alive. It was like a few days ago, she was just here crying over her now, she was standing next to her.

“It’s weird.” Allison chuckled softly.

“Yeah..” Lydia agreed wholeheartedly as she stared down at the gravestone that has Allison’s name written on it. It had been months since she had been coming back and forth here, wishing and hoping that her best friend wasn’t dead. And now, Allison was actually standing next to her, and she was real. She could hug her best friend. She could tell her everything that happened.

“I think we should get going. We have a sleepover to prepare for.” Allison smiled.

She nodded. “Okay, let’s go.”

The banshee and the hunter made their way back to her car, and Lydia started driving back to her house because the four girls decided to hang out for the weekend and have a little sleepover in her house and so that Allison could also catch up with the girls.

Lydia and Allison made their way to the kitchen to start getting ready for the food they were about to make. Malia suggested to order pizza because it was easier and the little coyote was starting to love it, but Lydia wanted to cook a homemade meal, which made Malia just pout and nodded her head in agreement. Lydia took out the pots to boil some pasta, while Allison started making the sauce for it.

“I’m sure Malia would love Alfredo.” Allison smiled at her best friend.

“She likes pizza.” Lydia chuckled. “Stiles always takes her to go eat pizza. Poor girl doesn’t get to try different kinds of food.”

Allison laughed. “Poor Malia. Maybe next time we should take her out some place nice, so she can try other foods too.”

“I think that’s a good idea. If she’s ever free. She’s always with Stiles or Derek. I don’t even know what they’re doing.” Lydia shrugged as she stirred the pasta on the pot.

After an hour, the girls finally finished cooking, and Allison baked some cupcakes for them. Lydia was fixing the living room when she heard the doorbell rang. She finished setting up everything on the floor and made her way towards the front door. As soon as she opened the door, she saw Kira and Malia with their bags. Malia looked excited because it was her first sleepover, and Kira just looked happy as she always is.

“Hey! Come in!” Lydia opened the door a bit wider to let them inside the house.

The girls set up their bags on the floor and they all made their way to the kitchen where Allison was putting frosting on the cupcakes.

“Mm! That looks delicious!” Kira smiled.

“Thanks! We also made pasta. You guys can start eating if you’re already hungry.” Allison said, finishing up the last cupcake.

“What’s pasta?” Malia asked, looking confused. “Can we order pizza?”

The three girls exchanged looks. Lydia knew that this was gonna happen. It was Malia. Stiles have been feeding her too much pizza.

"You should try this, Malia. It's really good." Allison smiled, handing Malia a plate of pasta.

The were-coyote took the plate and stared at the pasta for a moment. Lydia could see the curious look on her face. They watched as Malia took her fork and tried a small part of it. The girls just stared at her curiously, waiting to see what she might say about it.

"I like it." Malia said, as she started devouring the rest of the pasta.

The three girls couldn't help but laugh. Kira and Lydia took their seats on the dining table and started eating. Allison was cleaning up the kitchen and took a plate to join the girls.

"So, what has been going on with you guys?" Allison asked excitedly.

Kira and Malia exchanged looks before looking back at Allison.

“Just trying to fit in in school. Since we’re, you know, the new girls.” Kira laughed softly.

“I’m sure people have already accepted you guys by now.” Allison replied.

Allison kept asking questions for the rest of the dinner. Malia and Kira mostly answered them because they have been telling Allison how they would go on double dates. Lydia, who has been spending most of the time with the young deputy, didn’t really told Allison much. All she said was that she was helping him finding out what he is and they had to find out about it through her Aunt, which made Allison’s smile fade.

“I’m sorry.” Lydia looked down, feeling guilty for even mentioning her

“Hey,” Allison said, wrapping an arm around Lydia, “it’s okay. Why don’t we go clean up and we can all watch a movie? It’s been awhile since I watched one, if you know what I mean.”

Kira and Malia cheered as they got up from their chairs and set their dishes on the sink. Lydia smiled and helped the girls cleaned up the kitchen before going to her bedroom and setting up the movie. Lydia chose The Notebook because it was her favorite movie, and she wanted Malia to watch it since she’s only been sucked into Stiles’ nerdy movies all the time.

But the movie didn’t even finish when the girls got distracted that night and started talking about their lives again.

“I feel like I don’t do enough for Scott.” Kira pouted.

“Shut up! Yes, you do!” Malia argued, rolling her eyes.

Lydia couldn’t help but chuckled softly. She missed this. She missed laughing with her friends and having sleepovers. Hell, she even used to throw parties almost every weekend. She especially missed Allison and her laugh. Lydia couldn’t help but watch her best friend. She still thought this was all a dream. But if it was a dream, she wished to never wake up because in this dream, everything was peaceful, and she is happy with her friends.

“Lyddiiaa!”

Lydia’s thoughts faded as she heard Kira’s voice, calling her attention.

“Hm?”

“I said what’s going on between you and Deputy Parrish?” Kira chuckled.

Lydia’s eyes widened from what she heard. How did they even got into the subject of her. Especially, the subject of her and Parrish? Why would they even think that? Lydia stopped for a moment to re-think that last question. Instead she asked herself this: Was is that obvious?

“Nothing.” Lydia shook her head and saw her friends’ eyebrows raised.

“What? Nothing is going on between us.” Lydia rolled her eyes, pretending she wasn’t even affected by the question.

“That’s such a lie!” Malia chimed in. “I can always smell the arousal coming off you two!”

Kira laughed from Malia’s comment, but when Lydia turned to her best friend, she didn’t look amused at all. She just looked… _mad._ Lydia just ignored her expression, thinking maybe Allison wasn’t amused as to how they were teasing her when nothing was going on between them.

“It’s nothing!” Lydia argued again, feeling her cheeks heat up.

She didn’t understood why she was blushing hard. It was just Deputy Parrish. It’s nothing. They were just friends. That’s it. Plus, she was just an eighteen year old girl in high school. Why would he even like her?

“Okay, just let us know how good he is in bed.” Malia and Kira giggled, making Lydia roll her eyes.

“Okay!” Allison clapped her hands. “I think we had enough sodas. We should get to bed.”

The girls nodded and set up their sleeping bags on the floor. Lydia couldn’t help but notice the change of attitude with Allison. She suddenly became quiet as soon as Kira and Malia mentioned Parrish. Did something happened in the station earlier when they went there? She wanted to ask Allison, but she decided to let it go for now because she was probably just overthinking things. Maybe she was just still surprised about the fact that her best friend was alive once again.

The girls settled inside their sleeping bags and after a few minutes, the three girls were all asleep, but for some reason, Lydia couldn’t follow suit. She kept on turning and turning, trying to get comfortable. She didn’t understood why she couldn’t sleep. Yes, she had nightmares before but somehow, tonight was just _different._  Lydia got up from the floor and put on her robe and fuzzy slippers before quietly walking out of the room and downstairs to the kitchen.

The house was dark and the only thing that she could see was the faint street light that was coming through the window. Lydia opened the fridge to get some water and as soon as she closed it, she jumped and almost dropped the glass in her hand when she saw a figure suddenly appear in front of her.

“Relax. It’s just me,” Allison whispered, stepping closer and letting the faint light shine on her face.

Lydia set the water on the table and went to turn on the light as she sighed in relief. She had seen many dark figures in the darkness before, so she was relieved to know that it wasn’t some kind of supernatural creature trying to kidnap her or kill her.

“You scared me!” Lydia shook her head. “What are you doing here?”

“What are you doing here?” Allison asked her the same question.

“I couldn’t sleep.” Lydia took a sip of her water and sat on one of the chairs. “What about you?”

Allison shrugged as she she sat next to her best friend, taking a sip of her water too.

“I was thirsty.”

Lydia nodded and there was silence between them for a moment. It had been so long that Lydia forgot how to talk to her best friend. Maybe because she didn’t know what to tell her. Maybe she didn’t know where to begin ever since she died. Especially since she was still getting used to the fact that she was back again in their lives.

“Can I ask you a question?” Allison asked, breaking the silence.

“What is it?”

Lydia watched as Allison sighed and set the glass of water on the table before looking at her with a serious face.

“I think you should stay away from that deputy.” Allison said, making Lydia looked at her in surprise.

She didn’t get what Allison was trying to get at. Stay away from Parrish? But _why?_ Lydia didn’t understand why she would say that. She thought she liked Parrish. She thought they had a good talk in the station earlier. But now that she thought about it, maybe that why Allison looked mad when Kira and Malia brought up the subject of him earlier.

“But… but why?” Lydia asked.

“If what Malia was saying was true, I think he’s too old for you. And secondly, I don’t think he’s the right guy for you, Lyds. What about Stiles?”

“What _about_ Stiles?” Lydia furrowed her eyebrows, getting a little angry. “Parrish and I are just friends and he is a nice guy. He was there for the pack when we needed help. He saved your dad’s life! You don’t even know him that well.”

“Oh, but _you do?_ ” Allison asked, raising her eyebrow at the strawberry blonde.

Did she? Did she really knew Parrish? She knew they just met a  few months ago and it wasn’t even a proper meet. It was more like Parrish pointing a gun at her because he thought she was some kind of intruder at a crime scene.

“I’m going back to bed,” she said instead, not wanting to talk anymore about the subject as she shook her head and started walking out of the kitchen. But she stopped and glanced at Allison over her shoulder one more time. “Parrish is a good guy,” she said undoubtedly before finally making her back up to her room, leaving the huntress alone in the kitchen.

 

**

 

When Lydia’s eyes opened again, she wasn’t in her bed.

She was standing in what looked like an empty parking lot in nothing but her thin nightgown, making her shiver as the cold night breeze blew against her bare legs. She thought she was alone, but it didn’t take long for her to realize she wasn’t. The smell of smoke, and something burning was overbearing on her nostrils as she coughed and quickly turned to see where it was coming from. When her eyes found what was the source of the smoke, her eyes widened.

It was a police car. On fire.

And then she heard it, amidst the crackling of the fire, a scream. A scream of pain. A voice that was yelling for help. A voice she knew too well.

“Parrish!” Lydia screamed, sitting up in a panic and cold sweat running down her brow when she realized she was dreaming.

“What?! What happened?!” She heard Kira get up quickly from the floor with an alarmed expression on her face.

Lydia was already getting up from her bed and grabbing her car keys. “Something’s wrong.”

“Wait, wait. What do you mean?” Kira asked.

Lydia could see the panic and confusion in Kira’s eyes. Malia just sat up on her sleeping bag, rubbing her eyes and still half asleep.

“It’s just a dream, Lydia.” Malia said, looking cranky. “Let’s just go back to bed.”

But Lydia didn’t listen as she quickly grabbed her jacket as well. She could hear Kira calling her name as she walked out, but she kept walking anyway as her banshee powers started to kick in. As she followed what she was feeling, she could hear Kira and Malia’s footsteps behind her as she got inside the car and so did her two friends.

“Where are we going?” Malia asked as she slipped into the backseat.

Lydia didn’t reply as she started the car and started driving out into the outskirts of the town until she finally found the parking lot that she saw in her dream. She quickly parked her car and ran out as she started smelling the burning smell of fire. It was exactly like in her dream, scaring her and making her hope that she was wrong, wrong about the person she thought she saw in danger in her dream.

But she soon found out she wasn’t. Her eyes instantly caught the smoke and the bursting flames erupting from the burning police car as she ran into the parking lot, and that was when she heard the familiar scream once more.

And it was like the whole world was crumbling around her. “No….no,” she whispered, as she finally let out a death defying scream. “ _Parrish!_ ”

She felt her knees go weak after she screamed, but before she could fall, she felt two pairs of hands catch her. Kira and Malia were by her side as the tears started falling down her face as she heard Parrish’s screams echo over and over again through her mind. Lydia struggled to break away from Kira and Malia’s grip as she tried to run towards the charred remains.

“Lydia!” Kira called out when she finally escaped, running and kneeling down next to Jordan’s lifeless body, taking his body in her arms as she cried.

“N.. No!” Lydia set her hand over his heart, and she couldn’t feel his heart beating. It stopped. He was... _dead._ She hugged his lifeless body as tears ran down her cheeks, and she couldn’t do anything else but just hold him. But then, suddenly, Lydia felt him move and cough and she quickly pulled away to look at him.

“J..Jordan?” Lydia slowly said as she gently her hand on his cheek as he coughed once more before his eyes finally fluttered open, gazing up at her.

“Lydia… Y.. You called me by my first name.” Jordan said, weakly as he set his hand over hers and held it.

“I.. I did?” Lydia smiled slightly, feeling herself blush a little.

“Yeah, you did. Y.. You can call me that if you want.”

Lydia smiled at him as they stayed like that for a moment, looking into each other’s eyes before Malia interrupted their moment.

“Ohmygod. You guys reek! Get a room.” She rolled her eyes.

Lydia felt her cheeks heat up even more as she helped Jordan stand up from the ground, only realizing then that he was naked in front of them, and Lydia could have sworn she could hear Kira giggling behind her. Lydia couldn’t help but also glance down a little lower past his torso, making her face burn up and heartbeat pick up a little.

“Um… is anyone going to get me a jacket?” Jordan chuckled.

“Right…,” Lydia murmured, taking off her jacket and letting him cover himself as they walked back to her car.

“Sheriff needs to know about this,” she said. “Whoever did this to you, they should pay.”

She looked at Jordan as he just nodded but didn’t say anything. He looked hesitant for a moment, but Lydia just let it go and drove to the station to report it, since that was the most important thing at the moment.

As soon as they arrived to the station, it was the perfect timing because the Sheriff was still in his office and the other deputies were staring at Jordan as to why he was naked, covered in ash, and barely covered in a girl’s jacket. Sheriff was just stepping out of his office when he saw Jordan and the three girls.

“Oh god. Not again,” Sheriff mumbled under his breath as he waved his hand, leading them inside.

“Lydia?!” Allison burst through the doors of the station, a look of worry covering her features as she searched the strawberry blonde’s face for injury or pain. “I went to the bathroom and I came back and you guys were gone, so I texted Malia.”

“I’m sorry, Allison,” Lydia sighed. “I.. I had a nightmare.”

“Are you okay?” Allison asked, biting her lip nervously.

“Yeah. Someone burned Pa-- _Jordan._ ” Lydia glanced at him. 

Sheriff sighed and rubbed his forehead. “Who do you think can do this? I mean isn’t the whole Benefactor thing already over?”

Jordan nodded and Lydia could see the hesitant expression return on his face as his eyes lingered on Allison. 

“I.. I don’t know, sir.” Jordan looked down.

“Alright, we’ll investigate this. Go home, Parrish.” Sheriff said.

Lydia held Jordan’s arm, looking at him worriedly. “Do you need a ride home?”

Lydia could see Jordan’s reluctance to her question and she noticed him look at Allison again behind her, making her brow furrow. She couldn’t understand what was happening. Why were they were both acting like this? Now Lydia just wanted to know what really happened this morning when her best friend went to the station to talk to Jordan, because she was starting to get the feeling that something wasn’t right.

“It’s okay. I.. I don’t want you involved in this.” Jordan said as he handed her back her jacket after one of the deputies gave him a towel instead. 

Lydia found herself reaching out for him but Jordan just walked away instead, heading towards the station showers to wash all the ash off himself. When he disappeared, she couldn’t help but glance at Allison again who just stood there with no expression on her face at all, as opposed to Malia and Kira who were confused about everything that just happened.

Lydia sighed as she ran a hand through her fiery tresses, while wishing that she was really psychic right now. At least, maybe then, she could have found out who did this.

But at the same time, she couldn’t help but think that Jordan already knew that answer to that.

**Author's Note:**

> We appreciate all types of feedback! :)
> 
> You can also read this story on KC's wattpad: [(x)](http://www.wattpad.com/story/30805548-the-deputy-and-the-banshee)


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